BENGALURU: Fraudsters posing as police officers claimed that a 39-year-old software engineer's Aadhaar card was being used to open bank accounts for money laundering resulting in his loss of Rs. 11.8 crore in a "digital arrest" scam, police said on Monday.
According to them, the fraud took place between November 25 and December 12.
As per police reports, the victim's complaint stated that on November 11, he was contacted by someone posing as a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) officer. According to the accused officer, his SIM card—which was connected to his Aadhaar card—was used to send harassing messages and unlawful advertisements.
The scammer further claimed that a case had been filed at Mumbai's Colaba Cyber Police Station in relation to this.
According to the FIR, he later received a call from someone posing as a police official who claimed that his Aadhaar information was being used fraudulently to open bank accounts for money laundering.
In addition to warning him to keep the matter private, the scammer also threatened to have him physically arrested if he did not help with the virtual probe.
According to the FIR, he then received a call from someone requesting that he download the Skype program. After doing so, a man purportedly wearing a Mumbai police uniform video-called him and said that a businessman had used his Aadhaar to open a bank account and make transactions of Rs 6 crore.
However, the complainant added that on November 25, a second man in a police uniform called him on Skype, claiming that his case was being heard at the top court and threatening to arrest his family if he did not comply.
The scammers threatened to take legal action if he didn't transfer money to specific accounts under the guise of "verification purposes" and cited a fictitious Reserve Bank of India (RBI) regulation.
The victim allegedly transferred a total of Rs 11.8 crore to different bank accounts over time out of fear of being arrested, according to the FIR. But when they began requesting additional money, the victim understood he had been deceived and filed a police report.
According to police, a complaint for cheating and cheating by impersonation has been filed under the IT Act and pertinent parts of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation is currently under progress.
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