A Bengaluru software engineer was defrauded of Rs 11.8 crore over the span of just 18 days in a sophisticated "digital arrest" scam. The victim, a 39-year-old tech professional, filed a complaint with the North-East CEN police station on December 12 after realizing he had been tricked. The scam began when an individual posing as a Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) officer contacted the victim, falsely claiming his Aadhaar-linked SIM card was involved in illegal activities.

The victim was told that a complaint had been filed with Mumbai's Colaba Cyber Police Station about the misuse of his Aadhaar, followed by a call from another scammer alleging his Aadhaar details were used to open a bank account involved in money laundering. The fraudsters convinced him to transfer funds for "verification purposes" and threatened his family with arrest if he didn’t cooperate.

Over the following weeks, the victim transferred large sums of money into third-party accounts, totaling Rs 11.8 crore by December 12. The police have registered a case under the Information Technology Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating and impersonation. This case highlights the growing issue of cybercrime in Bengaluru, where victims lost Rs 1,806 crore to similar frauds in 2024.