In a shocking case that highlights the growing sophistication of online fraud, a woman from Bengaluru was conned out of over Rs 2 crore after being placed under a terrifying 'digital arrest' by cybercriminals posing as police officers. The victim was forced to sell two plots of land, an apartment, and even take a bank loan to meet the extortion demands over a five-month period.
The Anatomy of a Digital Kidnapping
The ordeal began on June 19, when the resident of New Thippasandra received a phone call. The caller claimed to be from Blue Dart courier service and informed her that drugs and baggage linked to her Aadhaar number had been seized. She was told that the Mumbai Police would soon arrest her.
Following this, individuals posing as Mumbai police officers took over the communication. They issued severe threats, warning of dire consequences if she did not cooperate fully with their 'investigation'. To intensify the fear, the fraudsters, having learned she had a 10-year-old son, threatened that he too would be arrested and jailed.
The scammers instructed her to install specific mobile applications and ordered her to stay indoors, isolating her from family and friends. They forbade her from sharing any information about the situation until their probe was complete, effectively placing her under a digital house arrest.
A Five-Month Extortion and Financial Ruin
From June 19 to November 27, the woman complied with every demand. To gather the massive sums of money, she made a series of drastic financial decisions under duress. According to the First Information Report (FIR) registered at the Whitefield CEN police station on November 27, she sold an apartment in Vignan Nagar at a significantly undervalued price. She also sold two plots in Malur, again at a loss, and finally resorted to taking a bank loan.
In total, the victim transferred Rs 2,05,16,652 to the cybercriminals across 22 separate transactions. The largest single transaction amounted to a staggering Rs 70 lakh. The scam only unraveled when the fraudsters, after bleeding her dry, instructed her to visit a police station to obtain a 'no-objection certificate'. It was when she walked into the Whitefield police station that the devastating truth was revealed.
The police have registered a case under sections 66(c) and 66(d) of the Information Technology Act and sections 319(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The investigation is ongoing.
The Alarming State of Cybercrime in Karnataka
This case is a stark example of a larger, distressing trend. Official data reveals that Karnataka has suffered immense losses to cybercrime over the last three years. The state witnessed 57,733 cybercrime cases, leading to a total loss of Rs 5,473.97 crore. Alarmingly, only 11.5% of this amount has been recovered.
On average, Karnataka lost Rs 6.05 crore per day to cybercriminals, while recovering only about Rs 60 lakh daily. The chances for victims to recover their money have drastically plummeted. In 2023, a victim had a 1-in-5 chance of recovering some funds. By 2025, that odds have worsened to barely 1 in 16.
Police officials note an evolution in the nature of these crimes. "The nature of cybercrimes has evolved," an officer stated. "While cryptocurrency-related fraud has decreased, job scams and matrimonial fraud continue to persist. In the past, the financial losses were relatively smaller, and the duration of the crimes was shorter. However, with the rise of digital scams and stock trading frauds, criminals are now taking much longer, sometimes hours or even days, to deceive their victims."
This Bengaluru case serves as a critical warning about the psychological manipulation and prolonged coercion employed in modern digital arrest scams. It underscores the urgent need for public awareness and robust cyber policing to combat these increasingly complex and devastating financial crimes.
