In one of the biggest cyber fraud cases reported in recent months, a 57-year-old senior executive of an IT company in Bengaluru was allegedly cheated of ₹31.83 crore in the course of one year by a gang posing as officials from a courier company, the Cyber Crime Department, CBI and RBI, in a meticulously planned ‘digital arrest’ scam.
According to the complaint, the victim received a call on September 15, 2024 from a person claiming to be from a well-known courier company. He claimed that a parcel booked in her name at the Andheri branch of the company in Mumbai contained prohibited items, including credit cards, passports and MDMA (a narcotic substance). When the victim denied any connection with the parcel, she was told that her identity had been misused and the matter would be transferred to the cybercrime division.
The call was then diverted to individuals posing as officers of the CBI, who threatened her with arrest, claiming that all evidence pointed to her involvement. They warned her against approaching the local police or disclosing the matter to anyone, saying her family’s safety could be at risk as ‘criminals were watching her’.
Fearing repercussions, especially with her son’s wedding approaching, the executive complied. She was instructed to install Skype — a video messaging tool — and stay connected on video, with scammers keeping her under ‘digital house arrest’ for days. The impersonators, identifying themselves as ‘CBI officers’ Mohit Handa and Pradeep Singh, coerced her to prove her innocence by ‘verifying’ her assets with the ‘Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the RBI’.
The complainant was shown forged documents and told that the gang had accessed her income tax filings, lending credibility to the ruse. She was told to transfer 90% of her assets to certain accounts. Between September 24 to October 22, 2024, she submitted details and transferred money after receiving fake letters purportedly signed by ‘Nitin Patel from the Cybercrime Department’.
The scammers continued to demand more money, citing new guidelines, sureties and tax requirements. From October 24 to November 3, the victim transferred ₹2 crore as surety and another ₹2.4 crore was transferred as ‘tax’ up to November 18.
On December 1, 2024, the complainant received a fabricated ‘clearance letter’. Believing the ordeal was over, she went ahead with her son’s engagement. However, she continued to be monitored by the fraudsters over Skype and was repeatedly promised that her money would be returned after ‘procedural clearances’.
She was last contacted by the gang on March 26, 2025, after which communication abruptly stopped.
She approached the police only after recovering from severe physical and mental distress caused by prolonged intimidation, and after her son’s wedding.
In total, the complainant made 187 transactions amounting to ₹31.83 crore from her bank account.
The police are now trying to track down the accused based on the financial transactions.
Published – November 17, 2025 01:23 pm IST
