The Latest Case:
Vijay Kumar, a man working in the tech industry in Bengaluru, became the latest victim of a cyber scam when fraudsters, posing as government officials, called him and threatened to arrest him for alleged involvement in a money laundering case. The scammers had learned about his investment worth Rs 50 lakhs, which had grown to Rs 12 crores, and used this information to manipulate him.
Posing as officials from the police, customs, and Enforcement Directorate (ED), they threatened Kumar with arrest unless he cooperated. Kumar ended up sharing sensitive personal details like his Aadhaar, PAN card, and KYC information, after which the fraudsters siphoned funds into nine different bank accounts over several months.
The police launched an investigation after receiving the victim’s complaint and traced Rs 7.5 crore to an account in Allahabad. Further investigations led them to Surat, where the money had been used to purchase gold. One of the accused, Dhaval Shah, acted under the instructions of a Dubai-based fraudster and earned a commission for the gold purchase.
Three people have been arrested so far, and investigations continue.
The First Case:
In a separate incident, another techie from Bengaluru, a 39-year-old software engineer, lost Rs 11.8 crore to a similar scam. Between November 25 and December 12, the victim was targeted by fraudsters posing as officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the police. The scammers claimed that the victim’s Aadhaar was used for illegal activities, including the creation of a SIM card used for advertisements and harassment messages.
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They then threatened him with arrest unless he cooperated with their investigation. The fraudsters made several calls and even video-called the victim, pretending to be police officers in uniform. They manipulated him into transferring large sums of money to designated accounts under the guise of verifying his innocence.
Fearing arrest, the victim complied and transferred Rs 11.8 crore to various accounts over a series of transactions. He realized he had been scammed only when the demands kept coming, and he filed a complaint with the police on December 12.
Both incidents highlight the growing threat of “digital arrest” scams, where fraudsters exploit fear and trust to manipulate their victims into handing over large sums of money.
