Mangaluru : A man from Puttur taluk was allegedly cheated of Rs 1.3 crore by cyber fraudsters who impersonated Mumbai police and Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) officials and falsely accused him of transferring money to perpetrators of the Pahalgam terror attack . Claiming that his bank accounts needed to be verified and the source of the funds must be confirmed, they instructed him to transfer money through RTGS to various bank accounts. The fraudsters allegedly threatened to arrest him and subjected him to ‘digital arrest’, using WhatsApp video calls to intimidate him.
Believing their claims, the victim transferred a total of Rs 1,31,50,000 in multiple transactions between Sept 2 and Oct 6, to various bank accounts. He later realised that he had been cheated and lodged a complaint through the national cybercrime helpline 1930.
Dakshina Kannada cyber crime police station registered a case under sections 66 (C) and 66 (D) of the IT Act and sections 126(2), 204, 308(6), 318(4), 319(2) and 351, read with section 3(5), of the BNS. Further investigation is under way.