Amarish Kumar Patel, 28, of Harrison in ACT refused court bail for allegedly scamming woman of $70,000

Amarish Kumar Patel, 28, appeared via audio-visual link in the ACT Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with blackmail, aiding and abetting a demand with a threat to kill, and conducting transactions to avoid detection.

Patel, who works as a courier and cleaner, has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The prosecution's document of alleged facts states the complainant on November 22 received a call from a man who identified himself as "Jerry".

He told her he was from the NCA, which she believed to be the National Crime Authority, and she needed to pay the NCA $10,000 otherwise he would send someone to "knock her off".

The complainant became fearful and believed Jerry would send someone to kill her if she did not pay.

She then withdrew money and contacted Jerry, who directed her to wait outside her residence for the funds to be collected.

With $10,000 cash in an envelope, she waited at her letterbox before seeing a man whom she described as being of "Indian appearance with short black-coloured hair" approach.

After that initial collection, Jerry called her almost daily demanding money.

For the rest of 2022, she continued to withdraw money from her bank account for collection.

Numerous times, she pleaded with Jerry she did not have money and by the end of December, she ran out of funds after giving Jerry about $70,000.

However, he continued demanding money, including telling her to go through her deceased husband's accounts.

It was only when the complainant's sons were notified by one of her friends that they went to the police where Jerry continued to call her.

Police were then with the complainant at her residence on Wednesday when they recorded her phone call with Jerry to organise the collection of $4000.

Once collected, police swooped in to arrest Patel.

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In court, prosecutor Mark Wadsworth opposed his bail application based on numerous grounds, including the likelihoods of failing to appear in court, to reoffend, to endanger the safety or welfare of a person, and to interfere with evidence or obstruct the course of justice.

Mr Wadsworth said the defendant changed his story during a police interview and the "inference drawn here is that his word is not worth a whole lot in relation to him complying with bail given his propensity to lie during that interview".

He said while Patel had family in Canberra and was likely to attend court while on bail, the possibility of him fleeing overseas could not be ruled out.

He said while Patel had no criminal history, further police inquiries may lead to more complainants and authorities were still trying to establish other potential parties, including interstate and overseas.

Duty defence lawyer Stephanie Corish said she accepted the seriousness of the situation in which Patel is accused of being involved.

"He disputes any wrongdoing," she said.

"On the current information ... the extent of his alleged role in this incident and the extent of his alleged knowledge and state of mind ... remain fairly unclear."

Ms Corish said her client accepted he attended the complainant's residence once in December and on Wednesday, but he denied other occasions.

She said he was in India until late November and it was an alibi "that can be very easily investigated" that would "certainly cast significant doubt on the prosecution's case as it currently stands".

"He's also now spent a full night in custody for the first time in his life and he now certainly appreciates the seriousness of these allegations and understands the importance of complying with bail conditions," she said.

Chief magistrate Lorraine Walker said it was "fair to say that the extent of that or proper understanding of that is not yet fully available" based on the current alleged facts.

"My single greatest issue of concern in this matter is the likelihood of interference with evidence," she said.

"That is because whilst it is unclear the extent of the role of this defendant in the matter, he's clearly implicated in what is commonly known as a scam."

Ms Walker noted the defendant having no criminal history and cooperated with authorities. Bail was refused and the case is set for return in March.

After the arrest, police issued a public warning that new and insistent scam types were emerging.

"These people are rat cunning at what they do and very convincing," Detective Inspector Marcus Boorman, from the ACT's Major Crimes squad said.

Police said people often were reluctant to reveal or report they had been scammed for fear of embarrassment - but they shouldn't be.

"I encourage people to have those conversations, particularly with elderly parents, because technology is evolving so quickly and they [the scammers] can be very convincing," he said.

Police said there were suspicions the alleged perpetrator of this scam was not acting alone and there could be a "facilitator" or a broader criminal group involved, perhaps working offshore, and investigations were ongoing into this potential involvement.

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