Imagine receiving a call from an unknown number. Picking it up, the other person claims to be a police officer informing you that a fraudulent bank account has been created using your Aadhar card, and you are ‘digitally arrested’. Many of us would panic and believe it to be almost true, scared of being arrested, right?
This is exactly what happened to this woman, a homemaker in Kochi, who was defrauded of Rs. 4.12 crore via a phone call where two fraudsters impersonated to be Delhi police officers. According to The Print, the fraudsters contacted the victim, claiming that her Aadhar card had been used to create a fraudulent bank account and that she was ‘digitally arrested’. The fraudsters instructed the women to transfer an amount of Rs. 4.12 crore to an account provided by the scammers and verify whether the money was obtained through fraudulent means.
Upon investigation, it was discovered that the scammers withdrew a significant amount of the scammed money in Malappuram. They used multiple bank accounts belonging to different individuals, therefore making it difficult to trace them. Through a scientific investigation, focusing on call records and withdrawal locations, the cyber police identified the accused, finding that they were using this money to live an extravagant lifestyle.
This isn’t an isolated incident. Recently, a 26-year-old woman in Mumbai was a victim of a similar phone call, where the scammers posed as police officers. She was cheated of Rs.1.78 lakh rupees and forced to strip in the name of ‘body verification’. The scammers falsely accused her of being associated with the Naresh Goyal money laundering case, threatening her that she would be arrested. Forcing her to conduct a virtual interrogation through a video call, they tricked her into transferring the amount and strip for the purpose of interrogation. A case has been lodged and the police are working to trace the suspects.
In another case, a 90-year-old man was duped of all his life savings of over Rs. 1 crore. Scamsters, impersonating CBI officials accused the elderly stock market trader of having links with money laundering and drug trafficking cases. They informed him over a WhatsApp Call that a courier from Mumbai to China had been found in his name, containing over 400 grams of MD drugs.
Known as the ‘Digital Arrest Scam’, this cyber fraud has been emerging as one of the latest forms of fraud in India. According to India Today, India alone has lost Rs. 120 crore to digital arrest scams and Rs 1,777 crore to cyber frauds in total. Police officials and multiple individuals have raised alarms about how these scammers prey on ignorance and target vulnerable populations like the elderly, students, and young professionals.
Many victims, overwhelmed with the legal trouble involved, often transfer money without verifying the claims. Scammers also realize that much of their target audience is unaware of legal procedures and that their victims won’t question law enforcement demanding money virtually. Pair it with the common perception of corruption and bribes, the scam is very believable.
While India is rapidly adopting digital technology, there remains an alarming gap in public awareness and digital governance. We need to strengthen our cybersecurity measures, educate the users, and ensure that our frameworks are capable of tackling such scams proactively. While we are embracing this digital revolution proudly, we also need to ensure that our citizens aren’t left unprotected in this new and foreign landscape.