Bengaluru: 76-Year-Old Duped of ₹33.7 Lakh in Fake Virtual Courtroom Scam

A 76-year-old retired private employee from Bengaluru lost ₹33.7 lakh to cybercriminals who created a fake virtual courtroom and even posed as a magistrate to deceive him.

The victim, identified as Bhaskar Rao (name changed), said the entire set-up looked so real that he never suspected it was a scam. “I lost all my retirement savings. The court they created looked genuine, and the magistrate spoke like a real officer. I couldn’t doubt them,” Rao told Deccan Herald.

The fraud began on October 15 when Rao received a call from someone claiming to be an official from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The caller said Rao’s phone number was being misused for illegal activities and connected him to another person who introduced himself as Jaiprabhakar Choudhary, a senior officer with the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The supposed ED officer accused Rao of involvement in a money laundering case and warned him of imminent arrest if he failed to cooperate. Over the next two weeks, the scammers kept Rao “under surveillance” and manipulated him into believing he was part of an ongoing investigation.

Later, Rao was connected via video call to another fraudster who introduced himself as Samadhan Pawar, claiming to be an IPS officer and additional director at the ED. During the call, Rao was shown what appeared to be an official court notice and told that a case had been filed against him by Naresh Goyal, the managing director of a private airline.

The scammers then asked Rao to transfer his funds to designated bank accounts for “verification by the Reserve Bank of India,” assuring him that the money would be refunded within 72 hours. Out of fear, Rao transferred ₹23.7 lakh to the accounts provided.

On October 29, the fraudsters went a step further by setting up a fake virtual courtroom. In the video call, Rao saw a man posing as a magistrate who “granted bail” but demanded another ₹10 lakh as “court fees.” Rao complied, transferring the money before realising he had been cheated.

In total, he lost ₹33.7 lakh. After discussing the incident with his family, Rao approached the police.

The North Bengaluru Cybercrime Police have registered a case and launched an investigation to trace the perpetrators behind the elaborate digital courtroom scam.

Police have urged citizens to remain cautious and verify any legal or enforcement-related communication through official government channels before taking any action.