A nightmare on Skype: Bengaluru techie loses Rs 32 crore in 'digital arrest' fraud

A Bengaluru-based software engineer has lost nearly Rs 32 crore in one of the largest cyber frauds in Karnataka, where scammers posing as CBI officers coerced her into making 187 bank transfers over several months. In what authorities are calling a sophisticated 'digital arrest' scam, the fraudsters held the victim under constant Skype surveillance, threatening her with arrest and torture unless she complied with their demands.

The victim, a 57-year-old woman from Indiranagar, first received a call on September 15, 2024, from someone claiming to be from DHL Andheri. The caller told her that a parcel addressed to her contained credit cards, passports, and drugs, and that her identity had been misused. Soon, she was transferred to individuals impersonating CBI officers who claimed to have evidence against her.

What followed was a six-month-long ordeal. The scammers, using multiple fake identities, monitored her daily activities over Skype and forced her to verify her financial assets and make large transfers to them. They even sent her forged documents to make their demands appear official.

News agency PTI reported that the impostors warned her against contacting the police, saying criminals were watching her home. Fearing for her family and her son’s upcoming wedding, she remained silent. 

A man identifying himself as Mohit Handa monitored her for two days, followed by Rahul Yadav, who watched her for a week. One of the key figures in the scam, Pradeep Singh, identified himself as a senior CBI officer and pressured the victim to prove her innocence. The fraudsters knew intricate details about her personal and financial life, making the situation even more terrifying for her. At one point, she was instructed to deposit a Rs 2 crore surety amount and further sums for what they claimed were taxes.

She was promised a clearance letter before her son's engagement on December 6, and received a fake one. Finally, the victim received the clearance letter on December 1, allowing the engagement to proceed. But she fell seriously ill after that, requiring a month of medical treatment to recover.

"All this time, I had to report over Skype where I am and what I am doing. This person, Pradeep Singh, was in touch daily. I was told that money will be returned by February 25 after completion of all procedures," she added. 

Post December, the scammers demanded processing charges, repeatedly delaying refunds to February, then March. After several delays, the fraudsters ceased all communication on March 26, 2025, and the woman finally came forward in June 2025 to file a police complaint, recounting how she was duped into transferring approximately Rs 31.83 crores. She has now urged authorities to investigate the fraud, which she says has ruined her financially and emotionally. 

(With inputs from PTI)