Scamsters make her strip for ‘narcotics test’; made to take ‘oath’ not to disclose details to anyone

Bengaluru: A lady advocate in Bengaluru became a victim of cybercriminals, who subjected her to a ‘video arrest’ for two days, resulting in a loss of Rs. 14.57 lakh. The incident took place between Apr. 3 and 5, and a complaint was filed at the Bengaluru East Division Cybercrime Police Station.

The 29-year-old victim received a call from an individual claiming to be from FedEx, an international courier company, informing her that a parcel addressed to her had been returned. She was instructed to speak with a customer care executive.

The executive informed her that the parcel contained five passports, three credit cards and 140 synthetic narcotics (MDMA), purportedly sent from Mumbai to Thailand  under her name.

Allegedly, due to the narcotics in the parcel, it was being held, and she was advised to contact the cybercrime team in Mumbai to report identity theft if she had not sent the package herself.

A Skype call

“After I confirmed my intent to file an identity theft complaint, they redirected my call to the cybercrime team in Mumbai. They instructed me to download Skype and provide an email address to initiate communication,” she stated in her complaint. They proceeded to inquire about the ‘illegal parcel’ and requested her Aadhaar card details.

Subsequently, the purported ‘cybercrime team’ claimed they would escalate the matter to higher authorities. “I was then informed that my Aadhaar card was flagged for involvement in human trafficking and drug-related activities. Following this, the Skype call was transferred to an individual claiming to be a senior CBI officer named Abhishek Chauhan, who instructed me to turn on my camera and engage in conversation,” the complainant recounted.

According to her, the ‘CBI officer’ asserted the existence of a case involving human trafficking, money laundering and identity theft. “They proceeded to interrogate me about my bank account details, including my current balance, annual CTC, monthly income and investments. I provided them with all the requested information,” the victim informed the Police.

Under duress, she was coerced into pledging confidentiality until the investigation concluded, as it was deemed a ‘highly sensitive case.’

Threatening tactics

The victim was prohibited from contacting her parents and the Police and was coerced into cooperating under the guise of the involvement of ‘Police and politicians’ in the case.

She was instructed to remain online with her camera activated and share her screen to prevent communication with others.

“I was under constant surveillance throughout the day and even during the night. I was instructed to keep the camera on while sleeping,” she stated in her complaint.

On April 4, she was instructed to transfer Rs. 10,78,993 from her bank account to the account holder named Nithin Joseph, which she complied with. Additionally, two separate transactions of Rs. 2.04 lakh and Rs. 1.74 lakh were made on Amazon on April 5.

Under the pretext of conducting ‘narcotic tests,’ she was coerced into disrobing and posing on camera, as detailed in the complaint. She alleged being threatened to continue or face arrest, along with her family, in a drug case.

“The individual claiming to be an officer later extorted me, threatening to sell the video to multiple individuals, including on the dark web, if I failed to provide him with Rs. 10 lakh by 3 pm on April 5,” she reported in her complaint.