Dindigul police on Thursday arrested a 20-year-old youth from Bengaluru on charges of swindling ₹9 lakh from a woman from Dindigul district.

The police said the woman received a phone call from the youth, Fardeen Abbas, who introduced himself as a police officer from Chennai.

He intimidated her by claiming that a SIM card, illegally obtained using her Aadhaar details, was being used by terrorists. He said he would register a case against her and place her under digital arrest.

He told the woman that in order to get her name cleared of the charges, she had to transfer the entire balance in her bank account to a specified account. He also assured her that the amount would be refunded within 24 hours once the investigation proved that she was innocent.

The woman transferred ₹9 lakh to the account specified by the caller. She subsequently realised that she had been scammed. Based on the complaint lodged by the woman, Dindigul police tracked the youth to Bengaluru based on the phone calls and bank transactions. The police team arrested Fardeen Abbas from Bengaluru and recovered the money from him. He has been remanded in judicial custody.

Published - July 10, 2026 09:33 pm IST