Fake CBI officers force Karnataka bizman to transfer Rs 15 crore in ‘safe account’ scam

BELAGAVI: An 81-year-old businessman in Belagavi has allegedly been defrauded of over Rs 15 crore in a ‘digital arrest’ scam, where fraudsters posed as officials from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), police said.According to officials, the victim was targeted through repeated phone and video calls over a period of nearly six weeks. The callers accused him of being involved in a financial crime, claiming he had received a Rs 5 lakh commission for laundering ?25 lakh and that complaints had been filed against him.The fraudsters threatened him with arrest in a money laundering case and pressured him into sharing sensitive banking and financial details. They convinced him to transfer large sums of money to what they described as a “safe” or “government” account, assuring him that the funds would be returned once the “investigation” was completed.The victim later grew suspicious after the callers became unresponsive and their phone numbers turned untraceable. Realising he had been cheated, he approached the police and filed a complaint last week.During the investigation, officials from the Cyber, Economic and Narcotics (CEN) police station traced the account where the money had been transferred and managed to recover only Rs 90 lakh so far.(With agency inputs)