By Shreya C.s
Copyright thehindu
Posing as sleuths from the Mumbai police, cyber fraudsters threatened a 33-year-old fitness trainer with “digital arrest” in a fake money laundering case and made away with ₹3.6 crore on September 20.
Based on the complaint filed by Shreya C.S., a resident of Marathahalli, the police on Friday registered an FIR against a person identified as Vishal, charging him under Sections 66C (identity theft), 66D (cheating by impersonation) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and several sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023.
According to the complaint, Shreya received a WhatsApp call from Vishal claiming to be an officer with the Mumbai police in August 2025. He informed her that she was involved in a money laundering case that was being investigated. The caller threatened her to keep her under digital arrest and demanded the bank account details for verification. He assured that the money verified from the accounts will be refunded within 24 hours after the investigation.
Trusting him, Shreya not only shared her and her father’s bank account details but also transferred a total of ₹3,62,87,000 to 42 different bank accounts mentioned by the caller.
The cheating came to light when she tried to reach him after the deadline and found his mobile was not reachable. After repeated attempts, she realised that she had been duped and approached the police on Friday to lodge a formal complaint.
The police have now initiated a probe to freeze the accounts where the money was transferred.
