A 57-year-old Bengaluru woman lost nearly ₹32 crore in what police describe as one of the city’s most extensive “digital arrest” scams, after a network of fraudsters allegedly held her in virtual confinement for over a month while posing as officials from DHL, the CBI, the RBI and the Cybercrime Department.
According to the FIR registered on November 14, the ordeal began on September 15, 2024, when the victim received a call from someone claiming to be a DHL representative. The caller alleged that a parcel booked in her name from Andheri, Mumbai, contained four passports, three credit cards and MDMA, and that her identity appeared to have been misused. Despite her denial, she was told the matter was being escalated as a cybercrime case.
The call was then transferred to individuals impersonating CBI officials, who allegedly threatened her with arrest, insisted they had strong evidence against her, and warned her not to approach local police. They claimed that the criminals who had misused her identity were monitoring her home, leaving her terrified for her family’s safety.
She was instructed to install two Skype IDs, through which a man calling himself Mohit Handa monitored her continuously via her phone camera, claiming she was under “house arrest.”
For two days, he watched her before transferring her to another impersonator, identifying himself as CBI officer Pradeep Singh, who allegedly abused her, threatened her, and pressured her to “prove her innocence.”
The scammers appeared to know her phone activity and location, further heightening her fear. They told her she needed to submit all her financial details for verification by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) under the RBI, even sending forged letters from the Cybercrime Department under the name Nitin Patel.
Between September 24 and October 22, 2024, she provided access to her bank accounts. The fraudsters then told her to deposit 90% of her assets for “clearance,” followed by another ₹2 crore as “surety” and additional amounts claimed to be “taxes.” She complied under continuous intimidation and surveillance.
Even while being monitored daily on Skype, she received a fake “clearance letter” on December 1. She proceeded with her son’s engagement on December 6, despite suffering severe mental and physical stress.
The fraudsters continued to demand payments into early 2025, assuring her the money would be returned by February. After repeated delays, they abruptly cut contact on March 26, 2025.
In total, the woman made 187 transactions, losing ₹31.83 crore. She told police she delayed filing a complaint until after her son’s wedding on June 8 because she needed time to recover from the trauma.
Police have launched a detailed investigation into the case.
