Another digital arrest case: Karnataka woman loses Rs 50 lakh to fraudsters posing as police, CBI officials

Mangaluru: A woman has lost Rs 50 lakh to fraudsters who impersonated as police personnel from Mumbai, to deceive her.

In a complaint, the woman said that she received a call from an individual identifying himself as Vinay Kumar, a Sub-Inspector from Agripada Police Station, Maharashtra.

The caller claimed that a case was registered against her for the misuse of her mobile number in illegal advertisements and asked her to be at the police station for enquiry. When she refused, the caller said that higher authorities would reach out to her.

Later, she received a call from a person claiming to be Akash Kulhari from the CBI, who claimed that an ATM card linked to her account was discovered during a raid on Naresh Goyal's property.

He also said that Rs 2 crore was deposited in her Canara Bank account in Mumbai. Accordingly, a money laundering case has been registered. The caller said that she would face arrest from the CBI and was asked to appear before the Supreme Court with relevant documents.

The complainant was then offered an alternative of an 'online investigation' if she could not appear in person. Trusting the caller, she provided details of her bank accounts and fixed deposits.

Akash then advised her to transfer funds to an RBI account to avoid scrutiny, directing her to send Rs 50 lakh to Shivani Enterprises, Bandhan Bank’s Varachha branch, on October 19.

Following his instructions, she shared the receipt via WhatsApp, with Akash promising a refund within three days.

When she asked to deposit the money to the MCC bank account on October 23, Akash refused, claiming that the transfer could only be processed to the original account.

He then instructed her to transfer the remaining balance to another account. Realising that she was duped, she immediately approached the police station to file a complaint.

A case has been registered at the Mangaluru East Police Station.