Digital Arrest: Cyber fraud victims lose more than Rs 3 cr in 15 days

Hameed Ashraf | NT

Bengaluru: Owing to the alarming trend of "Digital Arrest," cyber fraud victims in the South East Division of the city alone have lost more than Rs 3 crore in the last 15 days.

Digital Arrest is a form of cybercrime where fraudsters pretending to be law enforcement officials deceive their targets into believing that their Aadhaar card, SIM card, bank card, or bank account has been used for criminal activities.

They extort money from victims by using fabricated accusations. Despite various online and offline awareness campaigns by the police and other organisations, the surge in fraudulent activities and the intricate nature of the cyber scams has stunned the Bengaluru police.

Tragically, several individuals have fallen victim to this malicious scheme, with approximately seven people reporting losses ranging from lakhs to crores of rupees.

Reports have surfaced of an elderly couple from HSR Layout being cheated out of a staggering Rs 1.97 crore, shedding light on the severity of the situation.

In just 15 days, cybercriminals operating within the South-East division have managed to defraud individuals of an alarming three crores rupees.

The tech savvy Deputy Commissioner of Police, South East, Bengaluru, Chandrashekhar K Baba, who is known for spearheading various innovative measures to bridge the police-public relationship in the city, said that most of the victims are educated and have lost crores of rupees through online honeytrap cases.

Apart from this, there are new forms of cyber frauds that have surfaced recently.

"People must stop sharing their Aadhaar details to unidentified and suspicious persons over phone calls or social media platforms. Until they refuse to share anything, they are safe," DCP Baba said.

Explaining the modus operandi of the "Digital Arrest" cases, the DCP said that the operation begins with the criminals placing calls to unsuspecting and gullible victims, posing as representatives of investigating agencies from various locations.

"By inducing fear, they falsely allege that a crime has been committed using the victim's Aadhaar card documents. Fearing legal repercussions, the public, particularly those easily alarmed by police-related calls, falls prey to the blackmailing strategy. The fraudsters demand hefty sums of money to exempt the victims from further investigation," the DCP said.

In light of complaints registered with the CEN (Cyber Economic and Narcotic Crime) police station on fraudsters misusing Aadhaar number and fingerprints printed on the registered documents for illegally transferring money from bank accounts, the Bengaluru Police have been advising people to lock their biometrics and refrain from sharing their bank details with unknown individuals.