Udupi: A 76-year-old man from Udupi has reportedly lost ₹9.29 lakh after falling victim to a ‘digital arrest’ cyber fraud, in which scammers impersonated law enforcement officials and threatened him with arrest in a fabricated money laundering case.
According to the complaint filed with the police, Vasudev Prabhu received a WhatsApp call on July 2 from an unidentified person who claimed that a bank account had been opened in his name and that he was allegedly involved in a ₹2 crore money laundering case.
The caller further claimed that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had registered a case against him and warned that he would be arrested by 4.30 pm the same day. The fraudster allegedly threatened that he would be taken to Mumbai and kept in police custody for 45 days.
Fearing arrest and believing the claims to be genuine, Prabhu transferred a total of ₹9.29 lakh to a bank account provided by the fraudsters.
He later realised that he had been cheated and approached the police to lodge a complaint.
The Udupi Town Police have registered a case under Sections 111(4), 319(2), 308(2), and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, and have begun an investigation into the fraud.
Police have once again urged the public to remain vigilant against ‘digital arrest’ scams, stressing that no law enforcement agency conducts investigations or demands money through WhatsApp or video calls. Citizens have been advised to verify such claims directly with the concerned authorities and report suspicious calls immediately