Bengaluru: CID Cracks ‘Digital Arrest’ Scam, Recovers Millions
In a surprising turn of events, the cybercrime unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has solved a tricky “digital arrest” scam. They caught five people who tricked someone out of 2.2 crore rupees (about $265,000). The police got back most of the money, some dollars, and even a fancy car.
It all started in May 2024 when someone from Kodagu got a weird call. The caller pretended to be from a delivery company and said there was a package with drugs in the victim’s name. Then, a fake police officer got on the phone and scared the victim, saying they’d be in big trouble unless they paid money.
Frightened, the victim sent over 2.2 crore rupees. The scammers didn’t stop there. They kept calling, telling the victim to stay home or face arrest. This “digital arrest” trick was meant to keep the victim from talking to anyone else.
Luckily, the victim got suspicious and told the real police. The CID team found out the stolen money had been sent to 26 different bank accounts. This led them to catch four people in Bengaluru who helped move the money around. They also nabbed a guy from Dubai who might be the mastermind.
The police got back most of the stolen cash, plus some dollars and an expensive car bought with the victim’s money. They’re still looking into other similar scams these criminals might have pulled off.
This case shows how clever and scary online scams can be. It’s a reminder for everyone to be careful about strange calls and to check with the real police if something seems fishy.
