BENGALURU: Another person has fallen prey to digital arrest fraud. A 61-year-old man was duped of Rs 2.07 crore by fraudsters who kept him under digital arrest while impersonating officials from the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Police said, the victim received a call in March from a person claiming to be an officer from the National Data Protection Centre. The caller alleged that the victim’s identity documents were misused by a Mumbai-based person to obtain a SIM card, which was being used to send threat calls, obscene photos and videos, and was also linked to drug trafficking.
The fraudster further claimed that 30-50 FIRs were registered against the victim at the Colaba Police Station in Mumbai, and officials from NIA and ED would conduct an inquiry into the case. The victim later received calls from individuals posing as NIA and ED officers. They collected his personal details and directed him to speak with a person who identified himself as ED officer Vilas Rao Patel.
The fraudsters allegedly intimidated the victim by branding him a criminal involved in terrorist activities and claimed that multiple cases were registered against him. The victim was instructed to transfer money for “verification and case clearance”.
Between April 7 and April 18, the victim transferred Rs 2,07,04,600 via RTGS to multiple bank accounts provided by the fraudsters.