How Bengaluru techie lost whopping Rs 32 crore in digital arrest scam?
A 57-year-old techie from Bengaluru reportedly lost about Rs 32 crore in a digital arrest scam that lasted over six months. The case has been registered with the authorities. The accused kept her under digital arrest for nearly six months.
The scammers pretended to be CBI officers and kept an eye on her through Skype. They threatened her with arrest to force her to share her financial information and make 187 bank transfers.
The woman, a software engineer from Indiranagar, said the nightmare started on September 15, 2024. She received a call from someone claiming to be from DHL, saying a package in her name contained illegal items and that her identity was misused.
Before she could respond, the call was handed over to people pretending to be CBI officers, who threatened her and claimed they had evidence against her. They warned her not to contact the police, saying criminals were watching her home. Worried about her family and her son's wedding, she stayed quiet.
The scammers told her to install two Skype IDs and keep her camera on. A man named Mohit Handa watched her for two days, then another man, Rahul Yadav, monitored her for a week. Another scammer, Pradeep Singh, acted like a senior CBI officer and pressured her to prove she was innocent.
The woman felt they knew her phone activity and location, which made her more scared. They told her to check her assets with the Financial Intelligence Unit of the RBI and showed her fake letters to make it seem real.
From September 24 to October 22, 2024, she shared her financial details and transferred large amounts of money. Between October 24 and November 3, 2024, she deposited Rs 2 crore as a supposed surety and made more payments for "taxes."
She was promised a clearance letter before her son's engagement on December 6, 2024 but it turned out to be fake. This situation took a toll on her health, and she fell seriously ill after receiving the clearance letter on December 1, 2024, needing a month to recover.
During this time, she had to report her activities over Skype, and Pradeep Singh contacted her daily. She was told she would get her money back by February 25, 2025 after finishing all procedures.
After December, 2024, the scammers asked for processing fees and kept delaying her refunds to February and then March. All communication stopped on March 26, 2025.
The woman waited until after her son's wedding in June, 2025 to report the scam and has asked the authorities to investigate what happened. She said that through 187 transactions, she lost about Rs 31.83 crores.