"Took loan to pay fraudsters...": Bengaluru woman loses over Rs 1.2 crore in digital arrest scam
digital arrest scam and lost more than Rs 1.2 crore between December 21 and January 3. In a desperate attempt to pay the fraudsters, she even took out a loan of Rs 40 lakh after they drained her savings.
According to a TOI report, Keerthana (name changed), from east Bengaluru, lodged a complaint with the East CEN Crime police, revealing that the scam began on December 11 when she received an IVR call from a number (+971 71518333) claiming to be from the courier service ‘DHL’. Following the instructions, she spoke to someone pretending to be a courier executive, who told her that a parcel sent in her name contained six fake passports, ATM cards, and illegal drugs like MDMA.
Keerthana explained that she hadn't ordered any such parcel. She was then told that she needed to go to Mumbai to clear the matter with the police. When she expressed that she couldn't immediately travel, the fraudster connected her to someone posing as «Sunil Dutt Dubey», a police officer from Mumbai's crime team.
The fraudster claimed that Keerthana’s documents showed multiple bank accounts had been opened in her name across different states, and they were used for laundering over $10.9 million. He informed her that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered a case against her and shared a fake arrest order, warning her of arrest unless she cooperated with the investigation.
Panicking, Keerthana agreed to stay on a “digital arrest” and face a virtual investigation. The fraudster sent her a fake acknowledgment letter from the Mumbai
