- By Sandeep Rajwade
- Tue, 30 Apr 2024 07:52 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Digital arrest, digital imprisonment or blackmailing by keeping an eye on you through video calls has become a new method of cybercrime for swindling money. Cybercriminals are calling and video calling people from unknown numbers, posing as fake CBI, customs, cyber cell and police officers and blackmailing them under the pretext of implicating them in cases involving drugs, courier parcels and fake passports. Even educated individuals are falling prey to such digital arrests. Experts say that there is no need to fear their threats. Instead of falling for their tricks, one should immediately inform the police.
Case 01 - A woman was digitally arrested and duped of 12 lakhs under the pretence of finding drugs in a courier.
On March 14, a woman from Indirapuram in the Delhi-NCR region received a call from an unknown number. The caller identified themselves as a customs officer and claimed that drugs were found in a courier being sent from Mumbai to Taiwan and her name was written on it. She was intimidated and forced to stay on camera for two hours during a Skype video call. Under the guise of inspecting her account, 12 lakh rupees were transferred from her bank. The victim woman filed a report with the police after the incident.
Case 02 - A female officer was intimidated and held in online captivity for two days, swindled out of 56 lakhs.
A female officer from the central government department residing in Vasundhara, Delhi-NCR, received a call on February 23. The caller, posing as a Mumbai Police officer, stated that a courier was being sent to Iraq in her name. It was found to contain some expired passports, credit cards, laptops and drugs. The caller informed her that this information would be given to the Mumbai Narcotics Department. Under the pretext of avoiding trouble, she was asked to join via Skype call and was threatened for two days. She was instructed not to inform her family about the situation. Claiming to save her from arrest, they managed to break her bank account and fixed deposits, extorting 56 lakhs within two days. When she tried calling back and found their numbers were switched off, she filed a report with the police.
Case 03 - Father was duped of 12.5 lakhs under the pretense of saving his son from a rape case.
In the first week of March, a man from Raj Nagar in Ghaziabad received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number, claiming that his son had been caught in a rape case. Hearing this, the father panicked. The caller had a police officer’s photo as their display picture on WhatsApp. During the video call, the father was kept in a ‘digital arrest’ for half an hour and was not allowed to disconnect. The caller claimed that the paperwork was complete and that the son would face at least 20 years of imprisonment. The caller demanded 15 lakhs to save the son from arrest. The father transferred a total of 12.70 lakhs from different bank accounts. After the transfer, the caller disconnected the phone call. The father was in shock for some time and then informed his family. When he called his son, he learned that nothing of the sort had happened and that’s when he realised he had been scammed.
Case 04 - Elderly woman shown fake office by fake CBI officer, intimidated and swindled out of 35 lakhs
Recently in Delhi, an elderly woman was digitally arrested and intimidated into defrauding her of the entire amount deposited in her account. The Special Cell Unit of the Delhi Police uncovered the gang responsible for the fraud. According to the police, a 65-year-old elderly woman received a call from an unknown number. She was told that an online parcel addressed to her was found containing fake passports, documents and drugs. When the woman became suspicious of the call, the caller claimed to be a CBI officer. To gain her trust, they connected with her through a video call on Skype. The video displayed a fake CBI office and logo. Three individuals, posing as CBI officers, convinced her that a parcel containing drugs was caught in her name. Under the pretext of needing to inspect her bank accounts, they obtained all her account details and transferred 35 lakhs. The culprits were also aware that the woman had money and investments in the stock market. After the fraud, the woman informed her relatives and notified the police.
(Photo - Advisory issued by Kolkata Police regarding digital arrest)
Case 05 - Medical student duped of eight lakhs, Aadhaar number used for illegal activities
According to the police, a student studying medicine in Ghaziabad received a call around 2 pm on February 21 from an unknown number. Upon receiving the call, a girl identified herself as an employee of FedEx courier company and said that the student's Aadhaar had been used for money laundering. You could face legal action in this case. The student said that she had not done any such work, so she was told that she can complain about it to the Mumbai cyber cell. The girl making the call connected the student to the Mumbai cyber cell inspector on Skype on the pretext of talking to all the inspectors of the Mumbai cyber cell. After that, the fake cyber cell officer took the student's Aadhaar card, photo and other bank details and said that until the case is resolved, you will be kept in surveillance. This scared the student a lot. The criminal mentioned settling the case in the name of saving her from legal trouble. Taking the student into confidence, 8,17,297 rupees were transferred to her account. After receiving the money, fake documents were also shown to the student, assuring her that her name would not be caught in this case. Later, when the student realised that she had been cheated, she filed a report with the police.
Case 06 - IT engineer from Noida held in digital captivity for seven hours, threatened with jail if phone call was disconnected
A few days ago, a call came to the female IT engineer living in Sector 45 of Noida from an unknown number. The caller identified himself as an employee of FedEx Courier Service and said that a parcel is being sent to you from Taiwan in your name. This parcel has been stopped by the customs department at Mumbai Airport, inside which four fake passports, documents, along with intoxicants, have been found. Legal action will be taken against you for this parcel, you will be arrested. The caller added that he should talk to a Mumbai police officer and connected via video call through Skype. After that, the officer wearing a fake police uniform kept her digitally arrested for seven hours. Threats were also made that if the call was disconnected, she would be immediately arrested. Family members would also have to go to jail with her. After that, information about the woman's bank account was taken in the name of investigation. Due to intimidation, the woman transferred Rs 3.75 lakh from her account to the number given by the fake police officer. After pressuring to transfer more money, the woman suspected fraud and complained to the police.
More educated individuals are falling prey, being deceived by imposters posing as fake police or CBI officers
In various cities across the country, including Delhi-NCR, there has been a rise in cases of a new cybercrime method known as ‘digital arrest’ over the past few days. These cunning criminals are easily transferring millions of rupees into their accounts by scaring and threatening people with false cases, arrests, kidnapping of family members and even murder. Posing as CBI, customs, narcotics, or police officers, these criminals instil such fear in people that they feel compelled to give them money. Not only that, but they also gain trust by showing fake offices, fake officers, fake uniforms and fake items, along with misleading information related to bank details and Aadhaar-phone connections. Cybersecurity experts and police officers advise that one should never fall for such deceit. They scare you by mentioning some information about you or some details related to your bank, making you believe they know everything about you. In reality, this is not the case. They try to scare you by accessing your social media profiles or phone camera. People should show awareness, immediately disconnect such calls and turn off their mobile phones. Inform the police as soon as possible.
Three steps can save you from such frauds; do not be afraid, immediately tell someone and inform the police - DCP Hemant Tiwari, Delhi Police
DCP Hemant Tiwari from the Special Unit Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) of Delhi Police has stated that cases of digital arrest are continuously coming to light. To avoid fraud in these cases, one should follow three steps; the first step is not to be afraid at all. Do not be scared by any threats or intimidation, or talks of being trapped in a case when receiving calls or video calls from an unknown number. Immediately disconnect the call and block that number. This will deter such criminals from calling again due to your lack of fear and they will not be able to commit fraud. The second step should be to immediately tell someone if such a call or threat is received. It could be a family member, friend, colleague, driver, servant, employee, or anyone. After disconnecting the call, share it with someone immediately; the psychological effect of this is that sharing the incident will reduce your stress and fear.
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Moreover, you will be able to think and understand that such calls are a method of fraud. So far, in nearly 100 per cent of the digital arrest cases that have come up, people did not tell or share with anyone when they received such calls and became victims of fraud. The third step is that if you have not done anything wrong, you should immediately inform the police if such fake calls are received. In such cases, imposters posing as officers from customs, CBI, ED, police, cyber cell, etc., give false threats of entrapment and arrest in cases involving child pornography, drugs in courier-parcels, money laundering, suspicious transactions, false rape cases, among others. People get scared and trapped and end up giving them money. Neither the police nor any investigative agency makes such calls or video calls. People need to be cautious about this.
Meaning of ‘Digital Arrest’ involves blackmailing through video calls and camera surveillance
According to cyber experts, the meaning of digital arrest or online detention does not imply any kind of legal arrest. It means that cyber criminals keep an eye on the person in front through video calls and cameras, threatening to trap them in a false case, intimidating and blackmailing them for money. During this, they keep an eye on you, access your mobile camera, or connect through a Skype call until the money is transferred to them, not letting you turn off your mobile and keep convincing you of their every word, this is called digital arrest. According to experts, do not be afraid of any such call or false threat, instead, immediately cut the call, turn off the mobile and inform the police.
Police or investigative agencies do not make such video calls - Former SP, UP Cyber Cell
Former in-charge and cyber expert of Uttar Pradesh Cyber Cell, Professor Triveni Singh, has stated that digital arrest has become the easiest and newest method for cybercriminals to extort money from people these days. They are easily intimidating people by deceiving them and making them victims by showing fake uniforms and offices. First of all, people need to understand that no investigative agency provides information about threats or entrapment through video calls or calls like this. These cybercriminals keep an eye on your profile for a few days. They call you from an unknown number and scare you by talking about trapping you in various cases. If they feel that you are scared, they start to take you into their grip. It is entirely a mind game. As soon as they feel that you are scared, they connect with you through a video call. They keep an eye on you by accessing your mobile or laptop camera. They easily tell you about the things in your house or around you, making the person on the other side wonder how they know all this. They keep you in their captivity through video and phone for some time or days, intimidating you and taking information related to your bank. People also transfer money when they fear getting trapped in fake cases.
Former SP Triveni says that people need to be alert, the biggest measure is not to fall for such deceit. The more you respond to them, the more they will trap you. Immediately shut down such calls when they come and block the number and inform the police. Do not download any links or apps mentioned by them.
Being vigilant can save you; do not fall for threats or deceit - Cyber Expert Ashish Saxena
Ashish Saxena, Chairman of AKS Institute of Cyber Technology and a cyber expert, explains that incidents like cyber arrest, online kidnapping and video arresting are increasingly occurring these days. These incidents are happening worldwide. It’s a new method of cybercrime and people are becoming victims quite easily. The biggest way to avoid these is your vigilance. They keep an eye on people’s professions and profiles. In some cases, they send unknown links and apps to your mobile to gain access to your mobile and data, which gives them your contact numbers, data and professional information. Then, posing as fake police, CBI, ED, IT, customs, DRI and other investigative agencies, they call and video call you, threatening to trap you in various cases such as finding drugs in a courier, finding fake passports, or suspicious transactions in bank accounts.
Cyber expert Saxena says that don't be afraid of such calls and video calls at all. If you receive a call, do not fall for their threats or scams. Do not give access to any kind of link or Skype call. Turn off your mobile and call the police or cyber helpline number 1930.
Digital Arrest - Separate laws are needed for cybercrimes like deepfake - Cyber Expert Duggal
Cyber Law Expert and Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court, Pawan Duggal, explains that the biggest reason behind the easy swindling of millions of rupees in cases like online kidnapping, online arrest, or digital arrest is people’s fear. People get scared as soon as they hear names like police, CBI. Such cases have increased significantly in recent days. Calls are being made to scare and threaten people in the name of drugs or terrorist activities involving transactions and money laundering.
Duggal said, "Recently, I received a case in which a person was told that his son had been arrested in a criminal case. Money was demanded to avoid legal hassles. After cutting the call, that person called me and I told him it was a hoax; first, call your son."
He said that in India, the IT Act does not have any provision for punishment regarding new methods of cybercrime. Even the IT Act, which is currently being amended, does not mention a term like digital arrest, nor is there any provision for punishment for it. In such incidents, the police can only register the case under other sections, which are not strict and effective enough to stop this crime.
Cyber Expert Duggal says that being hacked on the phone is a different matter, people should be alert about it, many cases of data - mobile hacking have come to light. One should not download any unknown link or app. People click on unknown links in greed, lottery and offer scams. In this case, the way to identify is that if you don't receive any call on your mobile in an hour or two and there are no calls for 4-5 hours on any day, then you should check. You should call from another mobile to your number, if your mobile doesn't ring during that time, it means someone has cloned it. Besides, if you see any suspicious content - photos suddenly appearing in your mobile or social media account, you should investigate. For this, you should take a backup of your mobile first and format the phone. Mobile should be formatted not only once but seven times.
Duggal said that in cases of digital arrest, people need to understand that no investigative agency informs you through such video calls nor demands money for digital arrest. Avoid accessing any links or apps that come to your mobile. If you have received such calls, then turn off the phone. Inform the police and immediately discuss this matter with your family and acquaintances, showing wisdom.
(Note: This story has been translated by Ankit Kumar for Jagran English.)