A 57-year-old woman from Bengaluru was duped ₹32 million to cybercriminals and was held in “digital arrest” for almost six months after she was told that a package booked under her name contained “prohibited items”.
The ordeal began on September 15, 2024, when the victim received a call from someone claiming to be from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The caller claimed that the package booked under her name from Andheri, Mumbai contained four passports, three credit cards, MDMA and other prohibited items.
The woman, a software engineer, denied traveling to Mumbai, but the fraudsters insisted her identity had been misused.
Why did she believe the scammers?
The Bengaluru resident repeatedly said the dispatch had nothing to do with her, but before she could hang up, her call was transferred to another person who claimed to be a “CBI officer”. He warned her that the matter could be related to “cybercrime” and that there was “evidence against” her.
Read also | Inside India’s war against online banking fraud
The caller then ordered her not to inform anyone – including the police – claiming criminals were watching her home. Fearing for the safety of her family and her son’s upcoming engagement, the woman complied, not realizing the trouble she was getting into.
How did the criminals gain her trust?
She was told to create two Skype IDs and stay on 24/7 video calls until the platform is shut down in May this year. The man, who identifies himself as Mohit Handa, watched her for two days, followed by Rahul Yadav who watched for a week. A third impersonator, Pradeep Singh, posed as a senior CBI officer and pressured her to “prove her innocence”.
Between September 24 and October 22 last year, the woman disclosed her financial details and began transferring large sums of money. From October 24 to November 3, she deposited what she was told was a “surety amount.” ₹2 million, followed by payments marked as ‘taxes’.
Following the fraudsters’ instructions, the victim broke his fixed deposits, liquidated his savings and transferred ₹31.83 crore in 187 transactions. She was repeatedly assured that the money would be returned after “verification” by February 2025. The fraudsters also promised to issue a permit before her son’s engagement in December and sent her a fake document.
Read also | SC takes suo motu notice of digital fraud arrests, directs Haryana, CBI to file report
The constant pressure, threats and surveillance were draining her mentally and physically. She needed a month of medical care to recover.
“All this time I had to report on Skype where I was and what I was doing. Pradeep Singh was in touch daily. I was told that the money would be refunded by February 25 after completing all the procedures,” she told PTI.
After December, scammers continued to demand “processing fees” and repeatedly pushed for promised refunds from February to March. A few days later, all communication from their side suddenly stopped.
The woman waited until after her son’s wedding in June before approaching the police and filing a complaint.
Read also | 7 common personal loan scams and how to avoid them
“With a total of 187 transactions, I lost approx ₹31.83 crore,” she said in her complaint and urged the authorities to conduct a thorough investigation.
Police have now launched an investigation into what appears to be a highly sophisticated scam.
