Digital Arrest Scam: Woman In Bengaluru Held On Video Call For 6 Months, Duped Of ₹32 Crore
A shocking case from Bengaluru has revealed how a 57-year-old software engineer was manipulated into losing nearly ₹32 crore in an elaborate and frightening ‘digital arrest’ scam. For six long months, fraudsters posing as high-level officials allegedly monitored her every move through video calls and coerced her into making a staggering 187 bank transfers.
The nightmare began in September 2024, when the woman received a call from someone pretending to be a DHL executive. The caller claimed that a suspicious parcel addressed to her had been intercepted at the company’s Andheri centre in Mumbai. According to the impersonator, the package contained three credit cards, four passports, and prohibited MDMA.
Confused and alarmed, the woman insisted she had no connection to the parcel, especially since she lived in Bengaluru. But the caller escalated the fear, claiming that her phone number was linked to the case and that she could be implicated in a major “cybercrime”. Moments later, the call was transferred to another impersonator posing as a CBI officer, who told her that “all evidence is against you”.
From there, the intimidation intensified. The scammers allegedly warned her not to contact the police, falsely claiming that criminals were watching her home. Worried for her family’s safety, especially with her son’s wedding approaching, the woman followed every instruction without question.
She was told to install two Skype IDs and remain on constant video call. Throughout this period, several individuals controlled her movements. A man calling himself Mohit Handa monitored her for two days, followed by Rahul Yadav for a week. Later, another impersonator, Pradeep Singh, introduced himself as a senior CBI officer and repeatedly pressured her to “prove her innocence”.
Between September 24 and October 22, she shared her financial information and began transferring funds to various accounts. The scam accelerated between October 24 and November 3, when she was instructed to deposit a “surety amount” of ₹2 crore, followed by multiple payments labelled as “taxes”.
Over time, she broke fixed deposits, liquidated savings and investments, and transferred a total of ₹31.83 crore across 187 separate transactions. She was repeatedly assured that the money would be returned after “verification” by February 2025. Before her son’s engagement in December, the scammers even provided her with a fake clearance document.
Months of constant monitoring took a severe toll on her mental and physical health, requiring a month of medical treatment. “All this time I had to report over Skype where I was and what I was doing. Pradeep Singh was in touch daily. I was told that the money would be returned by February 25 after the completion of all procedures,” she told PTI.
Even after December, the fraudsters continued demanding “processing charges”, pushing expected refund dates from February to March. Eventually, they stopped all communication.
Following her son’s wedding in June, the woman finally approached the police. “In total, through 187 transactions, I stand deprived of approximately Rs 31.83 crore,” she stated in her complaint.
Police have now launched a detailed investigation into what appears to be a highly sophisticated cyber-crime network.
The nightmare began in September 2024, when the woman received a call from someone pretending to be a DHL executive. The caller claimed that a suspicious parcel addressed to her had been intercepted at the company’s Andheri centre in Mumbai. According to the impersonator, the package contained three credit cards, four passports, and prohibited MDMA.
Confused and alarmed, the woman insisted she had no connection to the parcel, especially since she lived in Bengaluru. But the caller escalated the fear, claiming that her phone number was linked to the case and that she could be implicated in a major “cybercrime”. Moments later, the call was transferred to another impersonator posing as a CBI officer, who told her that “all evidence is against you”.
From there, the intimidation intensified. The scammers allegedly warned her not to contact the police, falsely claiming that criminals were watching her home. Worried for her family’s safety, especially with her son’s wedding approaching, the woman followed every instruction without question.
She was told to install two Skype IDs and remain on constant video call. Throughout this period, several individuals controlled her movements. A man calling himself Mohit Handa monitored her for two days, followed by Rahul Yadav for a week. Later, another impersonator, Pradeep Singh, introduced himself as a senior CBI officer and repeatedly pressured her to “prove her innocence”.
Between September 24 and October 22, she shared her financial information and began transferring funds to various accounts. The scam accelerated between October 24 and November 3, when she was instructed to deposit a “surety amount” of ₹2 crore, followed by multiple payments labelled as “taxes”.
Over time, she broke fixed deposits, liquidated savings and investments, and transferred a total of ₹31.83 crore across 187 separate transactions. She was repeatedly assured that the money would be returned after “verification” by February 2025. Before her son’s engagement in December, the scammers even provided her with a fake clearance document.
Months of constant monitoring took a severe toll on her mental and physical health, requiring a month of medical treatment. “All this time I had to report over Skype where I was and what I was doing. Pradeep Singh was in touch daily. I was told that the money would be returned by February 25 after the completion of all procedures,” she told PTI.
Even after December, the fraudsters continued demanding “processing charges”, pushing expected refund dates from February to March. Eventually, they stopped all communication.
Following her son’s wedding in June, the woman finally approached the police. “In total, through 187 transactions, I stand deprived of approximately Rs 31.83 crore,” she stated in her complaint.
Police have now launched a detailed investigation into what appears to be a highly sophisticated cyber-crime network.
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