Retired Bengaluru man loses ₹80.5 lakh in sophisticated digital arrest scam

Bengaluru

A Bengaluru resident has fallen victim to a major digital arrest scam, losing ₹80,50,000 after fraudsters impersonated senior police officials, issued threats of physical arrest, and controlled the victim and his sister for several days through WhatsApp calls and video calls. FIR is registered at East CEN police station. 

According to the FIR, the ordeal began on 30 October 2025 around 9:30 a.m., when the victim received a WhatsApp call from +918876743780. The caller claimed to be an assistant working under a Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP). He instructed the victim to go inside the house, lock the door, and warned that both the victim’s Aadhaar card and bank account details were already with them.

The scammer then falsely claimed that the money in the accounts of the victim and his sister was “fraudulent money” and that the RBI needed to verify and secure it. Terrified by the threats, the victim revealed personal and banking information.

The next day, on 31 October 2025, the criminals escalated the intimidation. Using WhatsApp video calls from +919615132888 and +85560492738, one pretended to be the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) and ordered the victim to transfer funds for verification. Under pressure, the victim transferred ₹35,00,000 from his account (No. 10407101022189) to another account provided by the fraudsters.

Soon after, calls from +916026459515 instructed the victim and his sister not to leave their home or contact anyone. The fraudsters claimed that the “DCP had ordered round-the-clock online monitoring” and threatened immediate arrest and imprisonment if they disobeyed. This prolonged psychological intimidation is a hallmark of digital arrest scams.

On 3 November 2025, the victim’s sister broke her fixed deposit and deposited the amount into her account (No. 32082464992). Following the fraudsters’ instructions, ₹16,00,000 was transferred on 4 November to one account, and another ₹19,00,047 to a different account the same day.

Despite these large transfers, the threats continued. On 10 November 2025, the victim again transferred ₹10,50,000 to another bank account specified by the scammers.

The scam unravelled only on 29 November 2025, when the criminals again contacted the victim from +919615132888 and ordered him to visit the police station. Realising he might be trapped in a fraud scheme, the victim approached the police directly and lodged a complaint.

In total, the fraudsters extracted ₹80,50,000 through a combination of impersonation, intimidation, and psychological manipulation. Police have registered a case and begun investigations to trace the suspects and freeze the beneficiary accounts.