Whenever we try to visualize about a time in future, I bet we all imagine some sort of HiFi tech and digitization all over that image in future. Great minds of our soil and our government, together brought in technologies that look like they belong in future, like UPI and instant bank transfers, to the common man for the convenience of every person and also so that we can experience a glimpse of future in present times.
But in recent years, with the
increase of digitisation in our banking system, India has seen a significant
rise in digital arrest scams, a sophisticated form of cybercrime where
fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officials or government agencies to extort
money from unsuspecting victims. These scams have become increasingly
prevalent, with thousands of people falling victim to them, that to
specifically incidents coming into light recently.
The scams have evolved from lame
attempts and hollow threats to horrifyingly convincing mind games being played
with the victim by a team of fraudsters having knowledge of human psychology.
The only way I feel our society can tackle this problem is by spreading
awareness about these scams as well as becoming legally aware about our rights
in situations that these scammers love to exploit. Let us first understand the basics of such
scams and then we shall proceed to delve into the legal intricacies of such scams.
The impact of these scams has been alarming. According to government data, between January and April 2024, Indians lost around Rs.2,140 crore to digital arrest scams. The National Cybercrime Reporting Portal recorded Rs.7.4 lakh complaints during this period, highlighting the widespread nature of this issue.
How these Scam Work:
The modus operandi of digital
arrest scams typically involves the following steps:
- Impersonation: Fraudsters pose as officials from agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), or even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or any other government body which may be perceived to be ruthless in the eyes of a common man/ victim of such crimes.
- Intimidation: Victims receive threatening phone calls or messages from such scammers claiming they are under investigation for serious crimes such as money laundering, drug trafficking, murder or cybercrime etc. They claim to have legitimate documentary proof against the victim to show that the victim was either working alone or with some other people known to be criminals.
- False Accusations: The fraudsters accuse the victims of involvement in illegal activities, and they often resort to using fake documents and deepfake videos to appear legitimate in their claims.
- Demand for Payment: To avoid arrest or legal action, victims are coerced into paying a significant sum of money to these scammers. This may be asked in form of a “fine”, “official charge” or as a “bribe” to such scammers posing as government officers.
- Data Theft: In some cases, scammers also attempt to steal personal information, such as bank account details or passwords along with other data that they may be used to further coerce and extract money from the victims of such scams.
Main Weapons of the Scammers against their victims are:
- Fear & intimidation: This is the first cue on which the scammer decides to pursue the call forward or not. If the victim takes what the scammer says to be true on face value, they know that the victim is susceptible to their antics. But if the victim does not panic and or at least is able to show that they have suspicion over what is being told, they might lose the interest of the scammers.
- Time: Time is money and money is time. This is a proverb is often used in other situations, but even in case of scammers this saying holds true. The scammer will force the victim to take hurried actions, and would further push the accused to accelerate their actions. If the victim gets time to analyse the situation or discuss it with some other person who may know better, the scam will fail. Hence it is pretended that victim is in such big trouble that time is scarce and steps have to be taken immediately. Only advice, don’t panic, take your time. Analyse, process, crosscheck and then act accordingly.
- Self-Doubt and Self-incrimination: The Scammers in such offences only have information about the victim in some aspects of his life. They use tactics to put the victim in self-doubt and then forces them to reveal much more about their present state by themselves. During this the victim may talk about some random incident for which he may have had felt guilt for, and as they share the incident with the scammers, that is used to intimidate the victim further into the scam. For Example, in such cases the scammer might have victims Aadhar ID card details from there they make up story that such Aadhar Id was involved in illegal activities and hence the victim needs to identify himself. The victim may innocently from thereon reveal his real name, address and bank details to such scammers which acts for the basis for their scam.
- Restricting victim from approaching people who can help: The best chance the scammer has to execute their scam is to have the clueless victim be in charge and they may not seek help from others. Hence in cases it has been seen that such scammers may ask the victim to not seek help from others on the pretext that it might affect the secrecy of the case, or it may lead the other person in legal trouble or any other reason.
Legality of Such Digital Arrests:
One must be aware that in Indian
Law at the time, there exists no such provision for the police or any law
enforcement agency for that matter, to have a person be placed into a digital
arrest. No law enforcement agency, in India or abroad, may it be CBI, NIA, ED,
FBI, CIA, RBI etc. have the power under any Indian law to randomly call you and
forcibly make you do or not do tasks. For them to actually arrest you, there
has to be some case or verifiable document like FIR etc against you, that can
be verified by someone like your advocate.
Its common-sense that no authorised
person will share a top-secret information with you whom he does not know and
have never met. If he does, that information was cooked up specially for you
and is not top secret at all. One has
to take help of a legal professional if such a threat is received.
Furthermore, it is important to
know that bodies like RBI, Ministries and banks, that are not law enforcement
agencies, don’t and cannot take action against you without prior permission of
the court and it is the court that will contact you from thereon in a genuine
case.
Also, there is no law that I know of where if an information gets delivered to you or by you to a third person, that particular person may automatically face legal action. It is all farce. Hence if you feel threatened, try to seek help of others and if you are not sure about the situation it is always advisable to seek professional help from a master of that field.
Aftermath of digital arrest, where to complain and bodies to refer:
In case you were scammed in such
a manner, it is important to be vigilant and report the matter to the cyber
police HQ in your district or National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal as soon as
possible. Time is of essence here, as due to the limitations that the police have
at present, they can only help efficiently in certain cases where the case was
promptly reported to them.
If the case is promptly reported to the police, the police might try to freeze the account in which the transaction took place from the victim’s account. Hence it is important for the amount to be present in such accounts, which can only happen if action is taken immediately without delay. Otherwise, the amount is bound to get scattered over many different accounts in different values and locations.
Steps that can save people from becoming victims:
To avoid falling victim to
digital arrest scams, it is crucial to:
- Verify Information: Always cross-check any suspicious communication with trusted sources, such as government websites or known law enforcement agencies. One such portal is Tafcop.sancharsaathi.gov.in, which has been created by Ministry of telecommunications for users to check as to what all phone numbers are linked to their Aadhar Card. Hence in case someone tells you that your Aadhar is linked with illegal activities, you can always crosscheck it yourself.
- Stay Calm: Scammers rely on fear and intimidation, so staying calm and thinking rationally can help you avoid making hasty decisions.
- Report Incidents: Immediately report any suspicious activity to the authorities and the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal. Also important to come out and spread awareness amongst other people is very important. The more details you share with people about the scam, the harder it gets for the scammers to trap other potential victims.
- Do not click on random, unverified links and try to use common sense in situations: If you have the attitude where you question everything that gets told to you and furthermore you do not rush as when told by scammers rather you take your time, try seek help or involve more people into the calls, chances are scammer will not go through. Also do not handover your sensitive ID's like Aadhar, PAN etc to sketchy salesmen or other random persons. Even if you have to get a new SIM card for phone or FastTag for vehicle, try to get it directly from authorised vendors and shops rather than getting it from sketchy roadside dealers.
Action Taken by Government to Curb this Nuisance
The Indian government has taken several
measures to combat these scams:
- Public Awareness Campaigns: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has warned citizens about the rise of digital arrest scams and advised them to verify information and report suspicious activities.
- Cybercrime Coordination: The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre has been established to address all forms of cybercrime, including digital arrest scams. All information about such units is just a google search away.
- Blocking Fraudulent Numbers: As per a recent news article, over 6.69 lakh SIM cards and 1.32 lakh IMEIs have been blocked to prevent fraudsters from using them for scams.
Conclusion:
India lacks specific laws on this
subject and this is one such subject that just cannot be tackled without a
specialized law/ act for the subject. Day by day we are hearing that these
scams are evolving into a sophisticated machinery to harass common people. This
has to change and it is only a matter of time when the government realizes and
brings a specific law to tackle this nuisance of the society. I will try to
draft and send a model draft legislation to the legislators in future if the
time allows me to do so.
Meanwhile the Police and the
family of the victim has the responsibility of reassuring hope into the victim
of such scams and assuring that they do not feel demotivated and take drastic
life-threatening actions out of embarrassment faced by the whole scam.
Digital arrest scams are a
serious threat, but with awareness and vigilance, you can protect yourself from
becoming a victim. Stay informed, stay cautious, and always verify before you
act.
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Resources:
National Cybercrime Reporting Portal
www.tafcop.sancharsaathi.gov.in
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Disclaimer:
This Article/essay provides general information and does not constitute legal
advice. Consult a qualified legal professional for specific cases.
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