Bank manager loses Rs 50 lakh to ‘digital arrest’ cyber scam, 3 held

Mandya: In yet another alarming incident highlighting the growing menace of cyber frauds, a bank manager in Mandya fell prey to a ‘digital arrest’ scam and lost a whopping ₹50 lakh — a stark reminder that even those tasked with promoting financial awareness can become victims.

The victim, Bhavya, the manager of Bank of Baroda in Mandya, was duped by cyber fraudsters posing as CBI officials. The scammers initiated a video call claiming that Bhavya was involved in a money laundering racket and had made threatening calls to multiple people. Using fear tactics and official-sounding threats, they convinced her that she needed to transfer all the money from her account to theirs to ‘resolve’ the issue.

The fraudsters assured her that the money would be returned by evening but kept her on a video call the entire time to prevent her from contacting anyone. Once the ₹50 lakh was transferred, the gang quickly diverted the funds into 29 different bank accounts, leaving Bhavya helpless.

This ‘digital arrest’ modus operandi has been increasingly used in recent months. In Bengaluru, two young women were similarly trapped, forced to strip on video calls, and blackmailed for money.

Following a complaint by Bhavya, Mandya CEN Police launched a detailed probe tracing the money trail through multiple fake bank accounts. After nine months of investigation, a special team tracked down and arrested three key accused — Gopal Bishnoi, Mahipal Bishnoi and Jitendra Singh — in Rajasthan. The accused are suspected to be part of a larger cyber fraud syndicate that creates fake accounts and uses them to siphon off victims’ money.