What Is Digital Arrest And How To Protect Yourself?

Despite stricter rules and punishment for crimes, fraudsters keep coming up with new ways to cheat and loot people

Technology has been beneficial in several different ways, one of which is to reduce crimes such as frauds and scams. Although successful, fraudsters appear to be one step ahead in the game. Every time a modus operandi is exposed, scamsters come up with an entirely new technique to fool people and loot their money. One of the recent scams being conducted widely is the digital arrest scam. If you are not fully aware, let us take a look at what is digital arrest and how you can protect yourself from such scams.

Prevalence of digital arrest scam

Digital arrest scam is spreading like wildfire, as more crooks are entering this domain. It is a relatively new way to trick people, which is why scamsters are registering a higher success rate with this technique. The situation is so alarming that even Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to warn people about it during his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episode. In the 2024 first quarter alone, digital arrest cases reported have a total value of more than 120 crore. That means hundreds of people have been scammed via digital arrests.

Digital arrest modus operandi

In digital arrest scams, fraudsters exploit the general fear that people have about police and other government agencies. The modus operandi of digital arrest starts with contacting a potential target via a text message, phone call, WhatsApp video call or even social channels. The scamster at the other end will impersonate a police official or someone from the CBI or other investigative departments of the government.

The scamsters are well trained in terms of the way they talk, words they use and the tone they have during the conversation. Everything is done to ensure that the victim is fully convinced that they are talking to a genuine police personnel or other similar official. In case of a video call, the scamsters could also be wearing full police uniform with badges. Even the background of the room could be staged to look like a real police station.

Scamsters will slowly build the story that the victim has been found to be involved in cases such as cybercrime, tax evasion, money laundering, etc. They will intimidate the victim by telling them about the consequences such as jail and heavy penalties. Once the victim seems convinced, the scamster will ask the victim to pay a fine or bribe to avoid arrest. Scamsters may also try to extract confidential information such as bank account details, passwords, etc.

How to protect yourself from digital arrest?

Awareness is the key to protecting yourself and others from online scams such as digital arrest. So, make sure that you share this information with as many people as possible. It is important to note that a real police or government official will never ask for your bank account details and your passwords. If someone is doing that, it is certain that they are fraudsters. And if someone is asking for a fine or bribe online, then also it is nothing but a scam. Police never collect fines online by contacting you.

To ensure the protection of others, you need to report the scamster’s phone number or WhatsApp number on the Chakshu Portal (https://sancharsaathi.gov.in/sfc/). If you have already lost money to fraudsters, you can contact the Cyber Crime department by calling the helpline number 1930. You can also log your complaint online by visiting https://www.cybercrime.gov.in. The sooner you lodge a complaint, the higher will be the chance of recovering your lost money. Do share this information with your friends, family and colleagues, so that they too can stay protected from digital arrest and other online scams.