Three individuals have been arrested for cheating a private bank in Karnataka. The accused initially used a fake government email ID to trick the bank. As a result, they managed to transfer Rs 1.32 crore from two frozen accounts.
How Did the Fraud Happen?
The accused—identified as Abhimanyu Kumar Panday and Neeraj Singh from New Delhi, and Sagar Lakura from Rajasthan—were able to pull off the scam by creating a fake government email ID. Sagar, one of the suspects, created the email ID cb-crime-sog@karnataka.gov.in. This was done by providing false information to the Karnataka State Wide Area Network (KSWAN). KSWAN is a system developed to offer secure network connectivity and also bandwidth upgrades for government departments.
Using this fake email, the trio sent 18 fake court orders to the private bank’s nodal email ID located at Halasuru Gate, Bengaluru. The court orders demanded that the funds in two frozen accounts be released. The suspects had collected the details of the frozen accounts from online sources.
Fraudulent Transfers
Between September 2024 and February 2025, the three accused sent the fake court orders to the bank, requesting the release of the funds. One of the accused also called a bank employee directly on their mobile phone and asked them to process the transfer. After verifying the email and seeing the phone number, the employee believed the request was legitimate and transferred Rs 1,32,28,293 from the two frozen accounts to another account provided by the accused.
Discovery and Arrests
After the money was transferred, the bank manager became suspicious and filed a complaint with the cybercrime police. The police team investigated the transaction details, traced the money, and identified the account holder. During questioning, the suspect confessed to the crime and revealed the involvement of two others. The police then froze one of the accused’s bank accounts, which contained Rs 63 lakh.
The three accused have been arrested, and the investigation is ongoing. Authorities are now working to recover the remaining money spent by the trio.
Also Read: Aadhaar Fraud Busted in UP
