Businessman loses over Rs 15 cr in ‘digital arrest’ scam

A representational image depicting cyber fraud

Belagavi: An 81-year-old businessman has allegedly lost over Rs 15 crore in a ‘digital arrest’ scam after fraudsters posing as CBI officials accused him of involvement in a financial crime, police said.

According to officials, the senior citizen received multiple calls, including video calls, for nearly six weeks.

The fraudsters claimed that the victim had received a Rs 5 lakh commission for laundering Rs 25 lakh and that complaints had been filed against him for illegal financial activities, police have said on Sunday, March 22.

Threatening to arrest him in a money laundering case, they coerced the victim into sharing his account and financial details with them and transferring the money to a “safe or government account,” they added.

They assured him that the amount would be returned after the investigation. The victim grew suspicious when he received no response from the callers and found all mobile numbers untraceable, according to officials. He then complained to the police last week.

The Cyber, Economic and Narcotics (CEN) police station officials, who investigated the case, traced the account to which the money was transferred and recovered only Rs 90 lakh.

The Belagavi Police Commissioner has constituted a special team to trace and arrest the culprits.

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