Digital Arrest Scams: How fraudsters impersonate law enforcement to steal millions.....by  Gurjot Singh Kaler

Mohali: A fine morning, someone known as Mr. A, a retired doctor, received an unsolicited call on his phone device from an unknown number and the caller identified himself as Mr. B - the customer care representative of a mobile company whose service connection was operational on Mr. A’s phone device.

Mr. B informed Mr. A that a senior police officer, known as Mr. C, had come to their office today and directed the telecom service provider to provide the details of a specific mobile number which was being misused in a criminal case of smuggling or terrorism or money laundering in a specific terrain like Mumbai or Kolkatta or Hyderabad, etc. When Mr. B fetched the details of the specific mobile number from the company’s system database, the number was found to be belonging to Mr. A. Now, the police officer, Mr. C, is asking Mr. B to immediately send the details of the mobile number to him so that legal First Information Report (FIR) can be registered against Mr. A.

Now, on hearing this contentious matter, it is natural for Mr. A to feel utterly perplexed and stressed out. Mr. A now requests Mr. B to help him as he is totally unaware of how his mobile number has been misused and a grave crime is being committed by someone who is totally unknown to him. Mr. B poses as a good Samaritan now and readily agrees to help Mr. A by sharing with him the mobile number of Mr. C, the senior police officer, who can be contacted by Mr. A to resolve the entire matter urgently. Upon getting the mobile number of Mr. C, a phone call is immediately made by Mr. A to Mr. C to clarify his position and sort out the unpredictable mess. Mr. C answers the phone and tells Mr. A to do video call to him so that he can show him the so-called incriminating documents as evidence which indicate the gravity of the entire issue at hand. When Mr. A videocalls Mr. C, he finds Mr. C wearing a senior rank police uniform who is sitting in a police station set-up and also, giving instructions to other junior officers. Mr. C conveys to Mr. A that he has obtained full personal information of Mr. A like his physical address, father’s name, occupation etc. This fully establishes the authenticity of the identity of police officer in the head of the victim who is subsequently emotionally manipulated to believe whatever Mr. C tells him to do. Now, Mr. C informs Mr. A that since the case is of a very serious nature and the mobile number or other essential documents like Aadhar card or PAN card used in the crime belongs to Mr. A, hence, the police is placing Mr. A under digital arrest immediately from that very moment onwards and Mr. A is now legally restricted to not to share the confidential details of the serious matter with any other person without the prior permission of Mr. C. If Mr. A will not comply to the so-called ‘legal orders’, he is told by Mr. C that he will immediately dispatch a police team to the house of Mr. A to physically arrest him, send him to jail and start the trial proceedings of the case in the court of law. So, the best way advised to Mr. A by Mr. C is to obediently comply with the orders and directions of Mr. C if Mr. A intends to sort it out amicably without causing any trouble to him or his family.

Sensing a deep fear of loss of prestige and reputation in the face of imminent jail sentence, Mr. A readily agrees to obey the orders of Mr. C and almost pleads with him to resolve the matter urgently to avoid any long-term problems. Now, Mr. C conveys to Mr. A that the only way this serious matter can be brushed under the carpet is if Mr. A can agree to compensate the financial loss incurred by the victims of the crime in which Mr. A’s mobile number or documents of identity were misused by some unknown miscreants who will be eventually arrested sooner as Mr. C has already dispatched various police teams to arrest the unknown fraudsters. Out of sheer panic, fear of authority and utter desperation, Mr. A agrees to transfer the money to the bank account number provided by Mr. C. After receiving the money, Mr. C informs Mr. A that he will try to resolve the matter with the senior officers and since he has cooperated with the police, so, Mr. A is now totally free from the digital arrest or any other kind of legal repercussions but cautions him that Mr. A, however, must refrain from disclosing anything about the matter to anyone as it’s a highly secret and confidential legal issue.

By the time, Mr. A realises that everything was fake and it was a sinister ploy to cheat him and extort money from him, the cyber criminals are done with the execution of their trick of digital arrest and then, perform the disappearing act upon emptying the bank accounts of the victim. So, this is the whole crux of the digital arrest scam which is doing the rounds now-a-days and people are being unabashedly cheated upon with exponential sums of money.

To put things straight, there is no such thing as a digital arrest in the Indian law. The term ‘digital arrest’ has been mischievously coined by the cyber scamsters to dupe gullible victims and rob them off their hard-earned money.

As per the government data, Indians lost around 120 crores to the digital arrest scam in the first quarter of year 2024. Recently, the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, also highlighted the menace of this latest cyber scam of digital arrests which is causing a huge financial loss to Indians.

Everyday, the newspapers are full of reports of how victims are being conned by cyber criminals through this ingenious modus-operandi of digital arrests.

Mostly the elderly population is falling prey to this scam. However, it’s not just the computer illiterates but highly educated and accomplished people are also becoming victims of digital arrest scam. Right from retired army personnel to rich businessmen, the list of victims is endless.

Despite innumerable media awareness campaigns running on print, audio, visual and social media platforms, still people are becoming targets of this latest scam. Hence, it is important to discuss the topic of digital arrest and ways to prevent oneself from becoming a vicious victim of it.

How does the ‘Digital Arrest’ scam work?

Scammers first make contact via SMS, email, or WhatsApp, claiming the recipient’s name or phone number is linked to criminal activities like pornography, drug trafficking, or money laundering.

The message instructs them to call a specific number to avoid a ‘digital arrest’. The scammers then set up a video call via Skype or WhatsApp, impersonating officials from agencies like Maharashtra Police, CBI, NCB, or Customs. To make it look credible, they use uniforms, flags, logos, and background sounds like radio chatter.

When the scammers call their targets through video calls, they deceptively pose themselves as genuine members of law enforcement or judiciary. They even wear the police uniform or judges’ attire to establish trust with their victims and befool them.

In fact, the cyber scamsters have gone a step ahead as they have also managed to create fake police station set-ups or judges’ courts which makes the potential victims on a video call believe that they are talking to ‘real’ police officers or judges and it’s a very serious legal issue in which they have somehow got entangled into and hence, they, in turn, get completely convinced about the so-called authenticity of the entire fake imbroglio which finally leads them towards coughing up huge sums of money to fraudsters.

The victims are informed with utmost seriousness that their Aadhar Cards, PAN cards or mobile phone numbers are being misused by some criminals for conducting frauds like tax evasion or terror funding and consequently, they are now placed under ‘Digital Arrest’ on legal charges of suspicion and if the victims want to avoid any police or court hassles, they are best advised to not to talk or disclose this confidential matter to any of their friends, family, relatives or other government agencies which might complicate the situation further.

The cybercriminal pressurizes the victim to stay confined to their premises, instructing them to keep their phone camera on as part of the 'digital arrest.' The victims are threatened on the video calls by these fake law-enforcement officers and fake judges that they would be physically arrested and sent to jail if they do not urgently pay money to settle the matter.

During the call, scammers accuse the victim of serious crimes or even claim that a family member is under arrest or implicated. The victim is asked to pay a specific sum of money as a fine or a bond. They insist the victim remains on video as part of “monitoring” or “verification,”

keeping them in a state of panic, fear and pressure, which prevents them from consulting others or thinking clearly.

It’s all a devious psychological and emotional manipulation of the victims’ minds who feel panicked and get coerced into transferring sky-rocketing amounts of money to the scamster’s bank accounts (mule accounts) for escaping the ‘digital arrest’.

Common Pretexts in Digital Arrest Scams are as follows:

Parcel Fraud: Victims are told a parcel with illegal contents has been intercepted, linking them to the crime.

Family Implication: Scammers claim a family member is involved in criminal activity and urgently needs financial help.

Aadhaar/Phone Misuse: Victims are accused of illegal activity using their Aadhaar or phone number.

The Prime Minister of India highlighted how crores of rupees are being siphoned off through the digital arrest scam and rightly emphasized the importance of ‘STOP-THINK-ACT’ strategy as a three-stage effective mechanism to evade becoming a hapless victim of this latest cyber scam.

Whenever we get any such digital arrest video call from any fraudster, it is imperative to remember to immediately STOP the communication by cutting the call of the scamster; then THINK about the entire matter with a cool head and discuss it with your near and dear ones to take suggestions and finally, take concrete ACTION by reporting the scam to police at the nearest police station, or register an official complaint at the National Cyber Crime Portal (www.cybercrime.gov.in) or simply dial 1930 number of the national cyber-crime financial fraud helpline for assistance.

Adequate awareness needs to be created at all levels in society by police authorities and banking officials through organising various information seminars and campaigns to educate the masses about the symptoms and signs of digital arrest scam so that people can easily identify such fake audio-video calls as and when they happen to receive them on their phone devices.

The digital arrest scam causes more than just financial loss. Victims often suffer emotional distress from false accusations and threats, which can lead to high anxiety and stress. Additionally, these scams erode public trust in authorities, making individuals more wary of legitimate government outreach. This experience can leave victims financially impacted and more vulnerable to future digital fraud.

Preventive Steps:

- Stay Skeptical: Government agencies will never investigate or make arrests over video calls. Always try to confirm and cross-check the identity of the callers posing as government officials by independently contacting the law enforcement machinery through formal and established official channels or through the trusted government websites. The best advice is to avoid answering calls from unknown numbers.

- Protect Personal Data: Refrain from sharing sensitive information online. Do not share the OTP’s, KYC details, passwords, car details, CVV numbers, PIN etc., with anyone on the phone even if they claim to be law enforcement officials or banking representatives.

- Don’t Transfer Money: Law enforcement officials do not demand payments to dismiss cases on video calls. If someone is claiming to be a government official and demanding payment through a video call to settle the case, it is a sure shot sign of a fraud.

- Look for grammatical errors: Look for errors in the documents shared by the fake government official and do not click on any suspicious link sent by any unknown caller, even if they claim themselves to be law enforcement officers. Install anti-virus and anti-malware solutions on your phone devices to avoid scam calls or messages.

- Report Suspicious Activity: If you have fallen victim to the scam, contact local police or use helplines like 1930, or report at cybercrime.gov.in. Apart from it, immediately inform the concerned bank about the unauthorised transaction to block the payment channel and get all your cards, net-banking, UPI also blocked.

- Collect Evidence: If contacted, record or screenshot suspicious interactions for potential evidence.

Stay calm, as scammers depend on creating fear and urgency—if you feel pressured, end the call immediately. Stay informed about new scams and share this knowledge with family and friends.

Law enforcement is actively working to curb digital arrest scams by issuing public warnings, blocking fraudulent numbers, and investigating cases to bring scammers to justice.

However, awareness and caution remain essential; understanding these tactics and taking preventive steps can greatly reduce your risk of being scammed. Staying informed and vigilant is the key to avoid getting scammed by cyber criminals.

Always remember that there is no such thing as ‘digital arrest’ in the Indian law.

November 3, 2024