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Bengaluru woman duped of ₹1.1L in fake child pornography cybercrime scam: Report
The west Bengaluru resident lodged a complaint with Bengaluru police and cops registered a case under the Information Technology Act against the scammer.
A 31-year-old woman fell victim to a cybercrime scam, losing over ₹1.1 lakh after being falsely accused of uploading child pornography, reported The Times of India. The west Bengaluru resident lodged a complaint with the Annapoorneshwari agar police and cops registered a case under the Information Technology Act against the scammer.
According to the report, the incident occurred on November 13 when the woman received a call from an unknown number. The caller, claiming to be a representative from her mobile service provider, alleged that a SIM card linked to her Aadhaar card was used to upload illegal content online. He further warned her of potential legal action and said her mobile connection would be suspended unless she obtained a police clearance certificate from Mumbai cybercrime authorities.
In a state of panic, the woman was connected to another individual through a WhatsApp call. The second caller, posing as a Mumbai cybercrime officer, threatened her with arrest and demanded money under the guise of verifying her bank account details during a ‘virtual investigation.’ Fearing the consequences, she transferred over ₹1.1 lakh to the fraudsters.
When the scammers demanded additional funds, she grew suspicious and reported the incident to the police. Authorities are investigating the case and have urged the public to remain cautious of such scams.
In a similar incident, A 79-year-old retired employee in Bengaluru fell prey to the ‘digital arrest’ scam and lost ₹81 lakh. The fraudsters posed as Mumbai police officers and alleged the victim of sending obscene messages to a woman.
In his recent Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also warned people of the country of ‘digital arrest’ scams. PM Modi said, “People from every class and age group fall victim to digital arrest. People have lost lakhs of rupees earned through their hard work, out of sheer fear. Whenever you receive such a call, don’t be scared. You should be aware that no investigative agency ever inquires like this through a phone call or a video call.”
