Karnataka woman loses Rs 3.16 crore in digital arrest scam

The caller alleged that a new SIM card (9867485463) had been fraudulently activated in her husband’s name and was being used to make fraudulent calls and to share suspicious links with the public.

Mangaluru: A homemaker has lodged a complaint after falling victim to an online fraud, where she was coerced into transferring a total of Rs 3,16,52,142 to unknown bank accounts under the pretext of a "digital arrest".

According to the complaint, on June 5, the victim received a call at around 10:25 am from an unknown person claiming to be Inspector Anu Sharma from the NCRP.

The caller alleged that a new SIM card (9867485463) had been fraudulently activated in her husband’s name and was being used to make fraudulent calls and share suspicious links with the public.

The caller instructed the woman to bring her husband to Mumbai, allegedly to assist in an investigation. The call was then transferred to someone posing as a Sub-Inspector named Mohan Kumar from the Sahar Police Station, who obtained personal details from the complainant.

The conversation was later forwarded to a person claiming to be Public Prosecutor Deepak Venkata Ramana, who then demanded both the complainant’s and her husband's bank account details.

The fraudsters allegedly informed the victim that her bank accounts needed to be verified and instructed her to transfer money to various accounts for this purpose.

They also promised that all the transferred amounts would be refunded later. The victim was strictly warned not to share the information with anyone.

Between June 10 and 27, the complainant made a series of RTGS transactions, transferring funds step-by-step from both her own and her husband's bank accounts to various bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.

After receiving the money, the fraudsters stopped all communication and blocked her contact, she said. It was only after she confided in her children that she realised she had been deceived. Following which, a case has been registered at CEN station in Mangaluru.