Bengaluru Woman Duped Of Nearly Rs 32 Crore In Months-Long ‘Digital Arrest’ Scam

A 57-year-old woman from Bengaluru has allegedly been cheated of nearly Rs 32 crore in a “digital arrest” scam that unfolded over more than six months. Police have registered a case based on her complaint.

The woman, a software engineer from Indiranagar, said the fraudsters posed as CBI officials and forced her into a state of “digital arrest,” keeping her under constant watch on Skype. They threatened her with arrest, pressured her to reveal all her financial details, and coerced her into making 187 bank transfers. According to her statement, the harassment continued for over half a year until the scammers finally sent her a forged “clearance letter.”

Her ordeal began on September 15, 2024, when she received a call from someone claiming to be from DHL Andheri. The caller alleged that a parcel booked in her name was found to contain credit cards, passports and MDMA, and insisted that her identity had been misused. Before she could respond, the call was transferred to individuals pretending to be CBI officers who asserted that "all evidence is against you" and threatened her with immediate action.

The impersonators told her not to contact the police, claiming that criminals were watching her home. Fearful, especially because her son’s wedding was approaching, she complied. On their instructions, she installed two Skype IDs and remained on video throughout the day. A man identifying himself as Mohit Handa monitored her for the first two days, followed by Rahul Yadav, who watched her for a week. Later, another individual calling himself Pradeep Singh claimed to be a senior CBI officer and continued to pressure her to prove her innocence.

She said the group seemed to know her phone activity and location, which heightened her fear. They insisted that she verify her assets with the Financial Intelligence Unit of the RBI and showed her forged letters to make the process appear official. From September 24 to October 22, she shared details of her finances and transferred large amounts of money. Between October 24 and November 3, she deposited what they described as a Rs 2 crore surety, followed by further payments labelled as taxes.

The scammers promised she would receive a clearance letter before her son’s engagement on December 6. They sent her a fake letter accordingly. The continuous pressure left her both mentally and physically unwell, and although she received the so-called clearance letter on December 1, allowing the engagement to go ahead, she became seriously ill afterward and required a month of treatment.

She recalled, "All this time I had to report over Skype where I am and what I am doing. This person, Pradeep Singh, was in touch daily. I was told that money will be returned by February 25 after completion of all procedures." After December, the group demanded additional “processing charges” and kept postponing the promised refund from February to March. All communication ceased on March 26, 2025.

The woman said she waited until after her son’s wedding in June to approach the police. In her complaint, she stated, "In total, through 187 transactions. I stand deprived of a total amount of approximately Rs 31.83 crores, which were deposited by me." She has requested a full investigation into the scam.

With PTI inputs