Bengaluru women forced to strip, transfer money in fake police video call scam

Two women in Bengaluru were blackmailed by cybercriminals who posed as officers from the Mumbai Police. The fraudsters claimed the women were involved in a money laundering case and tricked them into a video call. The callers said the women were under “digital and home arrest” and kept them under video surveillance for nearly nine hours, issuing continuous threats.

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The callers told one of the women that she was involved in a fake Jet Airways scam. They claimed she was connected to crimes like money laundering, human trafficking, and even murder. They had her correct Aadhaar details and showed a fake arrest warrant to make their story seem real.

They then forced her to follow a series of instructions, including removing her clothes on a video call. The fraudsters said it was part of a “medical check” to look for bullet wounds or tattoos. Unaware that the call was being recorded the women complied out of fear. The video was later used to blackmail them with threats of leaking the footage online if they didn’t pay up.

The women ended up transferring up to Rs 58,477 through multiple UPI payments. Around 8 PM one of the victims managed to alert a friend and the scam came to light.

Following this, the women filed a complaint with the police and also approached the Cyber and Economic Offences (CEN) Crime Branch in Shivajinagar. They provided investigators with the phone numbers used by the fraudsters and shared UPI transaction details. One payment was made to a person identified as Abhishek SP via PhonePe.

The victims have urged the authorities to act quickly and locate the accused and ensure that any photos or videos from the incident are taken down. Police investigations are currently underway as well.