Cybercriminals target woman posing as Bengaluru police in digital arrest scam; Rs 468 cr lost in 3 years

BENGALURU: Cybercriminals posed as Bengaluru city police, with fake documents bearing cith police commissioner Seemant Kumar Singh’s seal and signature, to digitally arrest a woman. They claimed her mother was involved in an illegal activity and summoned her for questioning.

The scammers converted a phone call to a video call, showed fake Supreme Court and police orders, and even created a false CID report to intimidate the woman. They asked her to share her location so that they could reach her.

The woman, who got suspicious of the call, contacted the police and filed a complaint via email to the official Bengaluru police mail ID (ccp.bcp@karnataka.gov.in). The police are now investigating the case.

Meanwhile, despite awareness efforts, people are losing crores to these scams. The Home Department has released statistics on digital arrests, showing a rising trend in Karnataka.

In the last three years, 1,695 cases have been registered, with people losing around Rs 468 crore. The numbers are alarming:

– 2023: 196 cases, Rs 22.52 crore lost
– 2024: 1129 cases, Rs 219.42 crore lost
– 2025: 345 cases, Rs 215.14 crore lost
– 2026 (Feb): 25 cases, Rs 11.57 crore lost

The police are trying to raise awareness, but people aren’t learning from the warnings. Digital arrest scams continue to plague Karnataka.