Bengaluru digital arrest scam: Elderly woman loses Rs 24 crore, six held
The accused allegedly posed as CBI and ED officials and coerced the victim into making 26 transfers across mule accounts; police froze part of the funds, preventing further loss
The Karnataka State Cyber Command has busted a "digital arrest" fraud racket and arrested six persons who allegedly impersonated senior officials of the CBI and ED to dupe a 74-year-old woman of Rs 24 crore, police said on Monday (May 25).
The arrested accused were identified as N Sivagnanam from Erode (Tamil Nadu), Akkach Mallick from Mumbai, Palak Bhai Patel and Amit Narendra Patel from Ahmedabad, Om Prakash Rajput from New Delhi, and Gaurav Kumar from Bihar, they said.
The accused allegedly coerced the victim into transferring money between February 10 and April 24 this year, police said. The scammers reportedly targeted the woman, identified as Lakshmi Ramamurthy, after they discovered she had received substantial amounts of money from the sale of property.
The fraudsters told her they were investigating a money laundering scheme, and subjected her to intense psychological pressure over several weeks.
Rs 24 cr, 26 transactions, 23 mule accounts, 10 banks
The woman transferred Rs 24 crore from her bank account through 26 transactions into 23 mule bank accounts spread across 10 banks across the country, said the police.
According to the police, the fraud came to light on April 24 when the Cyber Command Unit was alerted by the bank about suspicious transaction attempts, following which the police team rushed and counselled the victim. Thus, Rs 3 crore was saved by preventing further transfers to the fraudster mule account.
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Police registered a case based on a complaint from the elderly woman, and informed her children who live abroad.
As a part of the investigation, the Cyber Command Unit swung into action to identify the account holders where the proceeds of crime were parked in the first layer accounts.
Several mule accounts frozen
"During the action, the team was able to freeze various mule accounts used for layering and laundering the proceeds of crime with the help of NCRP portal and could save over Rs 4 crore and also recovered nearly Rs 1.50 crore through court orders," a statement by Pronab Mohanty, Director General of Police, Cyber Command, Bengaluru stated.
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Police also seized six mobile phones allegedly used in the crime.
Digital arrest is a growing form of cybercrime in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement officers, court officials, or personnel from government agencies to intimidate victims through audio and video calls. They hold the victims hostage and put pressure on them to pay money.
(With agency inputs)