In a first, Japanese man held under digital arrest in Bengaluru, conned out of Rs 35 lakh

Bengaluru: A 59-year-old Japanese national working in Bengaluru was threatened by cybercriminals, held under “digital arrest” and conned out of Rs 35.49 lakh. 

Police officers said it as a rare case where a foreign national was conned in the guise of a digital arrest, which doesn’t exist as per the law. 

The victim is Hiroshi Sasaki, who works with a private company in Bellandur. He has been residing in the city for the last six years on an employment visa, a police officer said. 

Sasaki, in his complaint, told the police that on December 12, around 9 am, he received a phone call from an unknown number. The caller identified himself as an official from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and told Sasaki that his phone number would be disconnected. 

Sasaki told the police that the call then immediately connected to the persons claiming to be with the Mumbai police’s cyber crime branch. The call was made on WhatsApp from another unknown number. 

Sasaki was threatened and told that he was involved in a money-laundering case and his arrest was imminent. The cybercriminals also told the Japanese national that he was being placed under "digital arrest", according to the FIR. 

"To make him believe, he was sent documents resembling the official versions from the CBI, the Mumbai police and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)," a police investigator told DH. "The victim was led to believe that he was connected in a money-laundering case.” 

Between December 12 and 14, Sasaki transferred Rs 35,49,000 to the cybercriminals in multiple transactions through RTGS and UPI. 

"The victim was told the money would be returned to him once the ‘investigation’ was over,” the officer quoted above said. “However, when he didn’t receive the money, he reached out to the police.” 

The Southeast Cyber, Economic and Narcotics (CEN) crime police have registered a case under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). 

“An analysis has revealed that there is no money in the primary accounts used by the scamsters,” a senior officer told DH.

Investigations are underway.