A woman from Mangaluru lost over Rs 3.16 crore after fraudsters posing as police manipulated her into transferring the money under the pretext of a 'digital arrest', police said.
The woman (40), who has requested anonymity, lodged a complaint with the Cyber Economic and Narcotics Crime police station.
According to the complaint, she received a call on June 6 from a person claiming to be an officer from the National Crime Reporting Portal.
The caller alleged that a SIM card registered in her husband's name was being 'misused'. The call was transferred multiple times, eventually to someone posing as a public prosecutor, they said.
Over the following weeks, the fraudsters collected her personal and banking details and instructed her to make several fund transfers, assuring her that the money would be returned after verification.
It started with one person posing as police, but eventually, several people became involved in the scam. Between June 10 and 27, she transferred Rs 3.16 crore to various bank accounts provided by the accused.
Police said the woman approached them only after confiding in her children and realising she had been duped.
A case has been registered, and an investigation is underway.
A similar fraud was recently reported in Hyderabad, the police said and urged the public to be cautious when responding to unknown callers posing as 'law enforcement authorities'.
A ‘digital arrest' is a tactic where scammers exploit fear to take control of a person's digital presence and extort money or personal data.
Masquerading as law enforcement or government officials, they keep victims under constant video surveillance on platforms like Skype until they extract the demanded payments or data.
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