A 66-year-old resident of Mangaluru has fallen victim to a sophisticated cyber fraud, losing ₹34.48 lakh in a fake “digital arrest” scam orchestrated by individuals posing as government officials. According to the complaint, the victim received a phone call on July 10 from a person claiming to be Aman Kumar Sharma, allegedly an officer from the Data Protection Board of India. The caller falsely informed him that his identity documents had been misused to obtain a SIM card, which was allegedly involved in illegal activities. The fraudster then connected the victim to people impersonating officials from the Colaba Police Station in Mumbai. They falsely claimed that nearly ₹2 crore had been transferred through the victim’s bank account and that he had received ₹20 lakh as illegal commission. To intensify the fear, they also claimed that an arrest warrant had been issued against him. The scammers instructed the victim to transfer all the money from his bank accounts to “safe” accounts, claiming the funds would be verified by the Reserve Bank of India and returned after the investigation. Trusting their claims, the victim transferred ₹34,48,094 through multiple RTGS transactions between July 12 and July 27. The fraudsters promised to return the money within two days.
However, when the victim later tried to contact them, they stopped responding to his calls. After discussing the incident with acquaintances, the victim realized he had been cheated and approached the police.
Following an examination of his phone and the transaction details, authorities confirmed it was a cyber fraud. A case has been registered at the CEN Crime Police Station, and an investigation is underway. Authorities have once again urged the public to remain cautious of “digital arrest” scams and reminded citizens that no government agency or police department asks people to transfer money for verification or investigation purposes.
