• The number of digital arrest scams and related cybercrimes in the country almost tripled between 2022 and 2024, with defrauded amounts skyrocketing by 21 times during the period, Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar said in a reply in Rajya Sabha.

• The minister furnished data of digital arrest scams and related cybercrimes reported on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) in the last three years, which showed 39,925 such incidents being reported in 2022 with a total defrauded amount of Rs 91.14 crore.

• In 2024, the number of such cases almost tripled to 1,23,672, with the total defrauded amount reported on the portal increasing to Rs 1,935.51 crore.

• According to the data, within two months of 2025, as many as 17,718 cases with a total defrauded amount of Rs 210.21 crore have been reported till February 28.

What is ‘digital arrest’?

• “Digital arrest” has become a major concern nowadays. It is a new cyber fraud.

• The fraudsters pose as law enforcement agency officials, like CBI or customs officials, and threaten people of arrest by making video calls in the name of fake international parcels of banned drugs.

• Commonly known as the “parcel scam”, the cybercriminals call victims informing about a parcel addressed to them which contains contraband items like illegal goods, drugs, or fake passports, among others.

• In other cases, cyber fraudsters call to convey that a near or dear one of the victim has been found to be involved in a crime or an accident and is in their custody. A demand for money is made to compromise in the “case”. 

• They deceive the victims by making them believe that their bank account, SIM card, Aadhaar card, or other cards linked to their bank account has been used unlawfully.

• The fraudsters then virtually restrain the victims from moving out of the house and coerce them into paying them money.

• They ask the victims to stay online via Skype and not share this information with anyone even as they kept a watch on her throughout the period.

• The scammer threatens the victim with arrest or legal consequences unless he takes immediate action. They often create a sense of panic to prevent rational thinking.

• Under the guise of “clearing their name”, “assisting with the investigation” or “refundable security deposit/escrow account”, individuals are coerced into transferring large sums of money to specified bank accounts or UPI IDs.

• The fraudsters are known to use studios modelled on police stations and government offices and wear uniforms to appear genuine.

• Cybercriminals are technically sound and know how to convince their targets and drain their hard-earned money. They usually target old people.

• These fraudsters use translation tools for better English to send threatening letters and forge letterheads of police departments. They usually procure Aadhaar cards from other sources.

Steps taken to curb digital arrest scams

• ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India. 

• The states/UTs are primarily responsible for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of crimes,  including cybercrime and digital arrest scams through their Law Enforcement Agencies. 

• The central government supplements the initiatives of the states/UTs through advisories and financial assistance under various schemes for capacity building of their Law Enforcement Agencies.

• The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) set up by the Union Home Ministry has proactively identified and blocked more than 3,962 Skype IDs and 83,668 WhatsApp accounts used for digital arrest.

• The Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System was launched in 2021 under I4C for immediate reporting of financial frauds and to stop the siphoning of funds by fraudsters.

• So far, financial amount of more than Rs 4,386 crore has been saved in over 13.36 lakh complaints. A toll-free helpline number — 1930 — has been operationalised for assistance in lodging online cyber complaints.

• To curb the menace, the minister said, I4C in collaboration with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched a caller tune campaign for raising awareness about cybercrime and promoting the helpline number 1930 and NCRP.

• More than 7.81 lakhs SIM cards and 2,08,469 IMEIs as reported by police authorities have been blocked by the  government of India.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)