Bengaluru women, kept under digital arrest for 9 hours, forced to strip on video call

Digital arrest

Two women were mentally tortured, scammed out of money, and forced to strip on a video call by fraudsters pretending to be police officers in a digital arrest scam in Bengaluru. The accused had ordered the women to disrobe as part of an online ‘physical examination’ to identify birth marks and moles, The Times of India reported.

How the scam began

The victims, childhood friends Anne (name changed), a resident of Bengaluru, and Richa, who works in Thailand and was visiting India at the time, fell into the trap on July 17. At around 11 am, Richa received a phone call from a number (8856062795). The caller introduced himself as a police officer from Colaba police station in Mumbai and accused her of being involved in a money laundering case connected to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal. She was also falsely accused of involvement in human trafficking and even murder.

Richa tried to deny the charges and explain that she was only visiting India for a short time. However, the scammer presented her with details of her debit card and official-looking documents like a forged arrest warrant and a fake Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) ID.

This frightened both Richa and Anne and made them believe that the call was real. Multiple fraudsters joined in, making the conversation seem like it was from an actual police station.

To further deceive the women, the fraudsters made a video call claiming to connect them to officers from CBI. The crooks told the women they had to be kept under digital arrest at home, and had to stay on a WhatsApp video call for 24 hours.

The scammers said the women must prove their money was not black money by transferring it to a given account, promising it would be returned. Trusting them, Richa transferred Rs 58,447 from her account.

They told the victims that according to Reserve Bank rules, the transactions done from their bank accounts needed to be verified. The women were told to transfer money to an account provided by the fraudsters, on the promise it would be returned after the verification process if the money wasn't found to be black. Richa transferred Rs 58,447 from her bank account. The fraudsters also impersonated officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and Delhi police.

Fake medical exam

After receiving the money, the fraudsters told the women that they needed to pass an online medical test to confirm their identity and check for ‘bullet wounds, moles, or tattoos.’ The women were asked to strip naked and follow instructions, which they complied with, Anne told police, adding that she was also told that her entire house was under surveillance and an arrest warrant was issued against Richa.

The women had no idea they were being recorded naked. After they undressed, the criminals not only recorded them but also insulted and body-shamed them. The emotional trauma lasted for nearly nine hours, during which the women were both digitally and psychologically abused.

After suffering tremendous pressure and harassment, Richa managed to contact a friend over WhatsApp around 8 pm. She described everything that had happened. Realising it was a scam, the friend quickly advised her to hang up and stop responding to the criminals. Once they disconnected, the fraudsters tried to contact them again. They sent threatening messages containing their nude videos and photos, warning they would leak them online.

However, the victims did not save or download any of the content. Anne told police they immediately deleted all the material due to fear, shock, and shame.

Following the incident, a case was filed with the East CEN Crime police station. A senior police officer confirmed that an investigation is underway under multiple sections of the Information Technology Act, as well as under Section 318 (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.