Digital Arrest: How Cyber Criminals Exploit Fear to Defraud Victims

Digital Arrest: A Web of Deceit and How Cybercriminals Are Winning

In a chilling reminder of the rising threat of cybercrime, Vijay Kumar, a 39-year-old resident of Bangalore, fell victim to an elaborate scam that left him reeling from the loss of a whopping ₹11.8 crore. What started as a phone call from alleged officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) soon spiraled into a prolonged nightmare, trapping Kumar in a web of deceit and manipulation that lasted for nearly a month.

The criminals, posing as TRAI officials, claimed that Kumar was under investigation for money laundering. They threatened to implicate him in a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), unless he complied with their demands. In an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, Kumar was coerced into following the criminals' instructions without informing anyone, believing that any resistance would lead to dire consequences.

To further the illusion of legitimacy, the fraudsters instructed Kumar to download a video-calling app, on which he was told he was under “digital arrest.” The criminals insisted that Kumar grant them access to his bank accounts for "verification purposes." Trusting their threats, he handed over control of his nine bank accounts, unknowingly opening the door for the fraudsters to drain his life savings.

The scam played out over a month, from November 11 to December 12, during which the criminals meticulously transferred a staggering ₹11,83,55,648.52 from Kumar’s accounts. Each transaction was executed with precision, and by the time Kumar realised the extent of the fraud, it was already too late. The police were alerted only after the damage had been done, but the criminals had already vanished without a trace.

Not an Isolated Incident

Vijay Kumar’s case may seem harrowing, but it is far from unique. In the same city, another victim—59-year-old Japanese national Hiroshi Sasaki—also became a target of cyber criminals. Sasaki was defrauded of ₹35 lakh in a similar scheme, where he, too, was manipulated into believing he was under investigation and forced to make financial transfers to the perpetrators. 

In Sasaki’s case, the call was transferred to individuals posing as officers from the Mumbai police’s cybercrime unit, who accused Sasaki of being involved in a money-laundering investigation. They threatened him with arrest, showing him counterfeit documents that appeared to be from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Mumbai police, and even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Under immense pressure and fearing legal consequences, Sasaki complied with their demands. Between December 12 and 14, he made multiple payments via RTGS and UPI, transferring ₹35.49 lakh in total. The scammers reassured him that the money would be refunded once the so-called investigation was completed. Sasaki, like many others, believed that he was safeguarding himself from a legal nightmare, not realising that he was falling deeper into the trap set by sophisticated criminals.

Speaking on the extent of these crimes, Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayanand cautions, “We are receiving numerous complaints about people being put under ‘digital arrest’ by cyber fraudsters, who are extorting large sums of money. Let me clarify that there is no concept of digital arrest in our legal system. If you receive such video calls, stay alert and do not fall prey to these intimidation tactics. Instead, report the matter immediately to your local police station.”

At the heart of this fraud is the concept of "digital arrest." In an era where digital technologies are increasingly used for both legitimate and illicit purposes, cybercriminals have adapted by exploiting the legal system’s reliance on virtual communication. The term "digital arrest" is not recognised under Indian law, yet scammers have used it as a tool of manipulation. By convincing victims that they a

Digital Arrest: A Web of Deceit and How Cybercriminals Are Winning

In a chilling reminder of the rising threat of cybercrime, Vijay Kumar, a 39-year-old resident of Bangalore, fell victim to an elaborate scam that left him reeling from the loss of a whopping ₹11.8 crore. What started as a phone call from alleged officials of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) soon spiraled into a prolonged nightmare, trapping Kumar in a web of deceit and manipulation that lasted for nearly a month.

The criminals, posing as TRAI officials, claimed that Kumar was under investigation for money laundering. They threatened to implicate him in a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), unless he complied with their demands. In an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, Kumar was coerced into following the criminals' instructions without informing anyone, believing that any resistance would lead to dire consequences.

To further the illusion of legitimacy, the fraudsters instructed Kumar to download a video-calling app, on which he was told he was under “digital arrest.” The criminals insisted that Kumar grant them access to his bank accounts for "verification purposes." Trusting their threats, he handed over control of his nine bank accounts, unknowingly opening the door for the fraudsters to drain his life savings.

The scam played out over a month, from November 11 to December 12, during which the criminals meticulously transferred a staggering ₹11,83,55,648.52 from Kumar’s accounts. Each transaction was executed with precision, and by the time Kumar realised the extent of the fraud, it was already too late. The police were alerted only after the damage had been done, but the criminals had already vanished without a trace.

Not an Isolated Incident

Vijay Kumar’s case may seem harrowing, but it is far from unique. In the same city, another victim—59-year-old Japanese national Hiroshi Sasaki—also became a target of cyber criminals. Sasaki was defrauded of ₹35 lakh in a similar scheme, where he, too, was manipulated into believing he was under investigation and forced to make financial transfers to the perpetrators. 

In Sasaki’s case, the call was transferred to individuals posing as officers from the Mumbai police’s cybercrime unit, who accused Sasaki of being involved in a money-laundering investigation. They threatened him with arrest, showing him counterfeit documents that appeared to be from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Mumbai police, and even the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Under immense pressure and fearing legal consequences, Sasaki complied with their demands. Between December 12 and 14, he made multiple payments via RTGS and UPI, transferring ₹35.49 lakh in total. The scammers reassured him that the money would be refunded once the so-called investigation was completed. Sasaki, like many others, believed that he was safeguarding himself from a legal nightmare, not realising that he was falling deeper into the trap set by sophisticated criminals.

Speaking on the extent of these crimes, Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayanand cautions, “We are receiving numerous complaints about people being put under ‘digital arrest’ by cyber fraudsters, who are extorting large sums of money. Let me clarify that there is no concept of digital arrest in our legal system. If you receive such video calls, stay alert and do not fall prey to these intimidation tactics. Instead, report the matter immediately to your local police station.”

At the heart of this fraud is the concept of "digital arrest." In an era where digital technologies are increasingly used for both legitimate and illicit purposes, cybercriminals have adapted by exploiting the legal system’s reliance on virtual communication. The term "digital arrest" is not recognised under Indian law, yet scammers have used it as a tool of manipulation. By convincing victims that they are under arrest and forcing them to grant remote access to their accounts, these criminals are able to steal large sums of money without physical contact. The increasing reliance on digital platforms for everything from financial transactions to official communications has given these criminals a shield of anonymity, making their operations harder to trace and more effective.

So why are people, including tech-savvy individuals like Sasaki, falling prey to these scams? As the Indian economy becomes increasingly digitised, both individuals and institutions must adapt to this new era of cybercrime. The Probe decided to investigate these troubling trends to better understand what makes people so vulnerable, what can be done to protect them, and why, despite efforts, cybercriminals continue to thrive in an increasingly digital world.

“I Was Told My Account Was Used for Drug Deals and Hawala Transactions”

"I was told that my accounts were used for illegal drug deals and hawala transactions across 12 states," Malayalam actor Maala Parvathi recalls. Her voice shakes as she relives the terror of a call she received while on a film shoot in Madurai. What began as a routine conversation purportedly with a courier company soon spiraled into a frightening experience that would last over three hours.

It all started when she answered a call from someone claiming to be from DHL. The person told her that a parcel addressed to her had been seized by customs and required immediate action. "I said there’s no way I could have sent anything as I’ve been shooting in Madurai," Parvathi recalls. "But they insisted that it was a scam and that many people were falling victim to it. They told me that the police had asked them to report these cases and said they could connect me to the police."

With a sense of unease setting in, she agreed. The call was transferred to another person who claimed to be from the Mumbai Crime Branch. "They said I was under investigation for being involved in money laundering and that I would be arrested," Parvathi recounts. "They even sent me fake documents from the CBI to make it seem real."

The fraudsters seemed to know everything about her. "They had my Aadhaar number. They knew I had an SBI card. That made me believe them," Parvathi says. They told her that her Aadhaar had been used to conduct illegal transactions. 

But as the conversation progressed, Parvathi began to feel trapped. "They told me I was under 'virtual arrest' for 72 hours. The language was so believable that it felt like I was in a police station," she explains. "They threatened me that if I hung up or told anyone, this would alert the real scamsters and they could even harm my family."

For hours, they pressured her. "I can't express how fearful I was. They kept saying I had done something wrong. It felt like I had become part of a national crime syndicate. I was terrified," Parvathi. 

"They even sent me an ID card for one of the officers, Prakash Kumar Guntu. It looked so real. But when I googled, I found that the same ID card was tweeted by a girl earlier on X platform. That’s when I understood that this was a scam and then I decided to inform the media."

Soon after, her manager immediately contacted the Kerala police, but the response was far from reassuring. "They said there was no point reporting it in Kerala," Parvathi recalls. "They told me I had to report it in Madurai. But when I spoke to others, they said that even when people lost crores of rupees in digital arrest scams, no action was taken. So I was told to just leave it."

"Out of fear, I closed my bank accounts and my credit cards. I didn’t want to take any chances. They created this atmosphere, this feeling of a real police station. The language was so convincing—it was like talking to someone from the police force. They were either retired officers or trained actors," she suspects. "They made me feel like I was being watched. It was a complete mind game."

Parvathi's case highlights critical issues with cybercrime jurisdiction. Why did Kerala police dismiss her report? Shouldn't cybercrimes, often crossing state boundaries, be handled by a unified, victim-friendly system instead of forcing victims to report in the state of occurrence?

“I Gave Cyber Criminals 19 Lakh Rupees Out of Fear”

The Probe got in touch with Lakshay from Noida who became another victim of the growing trend of digital arrest scams. Lakshay’s ordeal began between September 21st and 24th when he received an automated call claiming to be from the Delhi Cyber Crime Department.

“They did an automated call. They said they called from the Delhi Cyber Crime Cell. They said that my credentials had been misused on the dark web and that illegal weapons were purchased using my credentials and that my Aadhaar card had been used,” Lakshay explains. He remembers how the scammers escalated the situation by calling him on Skype. “They were in police uniform. They sent me documents through Skype, claiming to be from the CBI, and they even sent me an arrest warrant.”

As part of their elaborate scam, the criminals told Lakshay that he needed to go to the Delhi Cyber Cell. “They kept pressuring me to follow their instructions and not reveal anything to others,” he recalls. “They told me it was all secret. They also asked for my bank account details, claiming that an account had been opened in my name at Canara Bank and that I was part of a larger scam.”

Over the next few days, Lakshay was bombarded with calls, and the scam took a more aggressive turn. “The calls continued, and they asked me for updates about my bank accounts. This went on for four days,” he says, describing the relentless pressure he faced. “They kept pushing for more details, and I kept providing them out of fear.”

What started as a seemingly harmless inquiry soon escalated into a financial nightmare. “I ended up losing around ₹19 lakh,” Lakshay admits. Despite paying that large sum, the criminals didn’t stop. They demanded more money. “They asked for 5 more lakhs. That’s when I finally shared this with my sister,” Lakshay says. “That’s when I got to know this was all part of an online scam.”

For Lakshay, the experience was chilling, and the authenticity of the fraudsters’ tactics was enough to deceive him. “I can say the way they spoke, the way they looked, everything seemed real. They even had documents and details about me that convinced me. They made everything seem so official, so real, that it was hard to differentiate them from actual law enforcement officials," Lakshay says, his voice filled with disbelief.

In Lakshay’s case, the psychological manipulation was particularly evident. “They created a sense of urgency and fear. They made me feel like I was involved in something serious, and if I didn’t cooperate, I would be physically arrested,” he explains. 

Police Inefficiency: Noida Police Fails to Register Complaint in Digital Arrest Scam

Despite losing ₹19 lakh to cybercriminals, Noida police did not register an FIR in Lakshay's case. "I went to the police on September 24 and submitted a detailed written complaint outlining the entire scam but the FIR was not registered," states Lakshay. Lakshya shared with The Probe that the lack of action from the police left him feeling abandoned in his pursuit of justice, as the scammers continued to exploit victims without fear of legal repercussions.

Lakshay's experience exposes a critical gap in the response mechanism to cybercrimes in India. "I expected the police to at least begin an investigation, but they didn’t even register my case," Lakshya stated. This indifference reflects a broader issue of jurisdictional complexities and reluctance among law enforcement to take digital crimes seriously. Without a proper record of such incidents, victims like Lakshay are left vulnerable, and the scammers are emboldened to continue their operations unchecked.

Cybercriminals' Strategic Profiling: Selecting Victims with Financial Capacity

One of the most alarming aspects of the growing digital arrest epidemic is the sophisticated profiling carried out by the criminals. These fraudsters don’t randomly target individuals; they carefully select their victims based on specific criteria, including financial capacity.

"Cyber criminals do proper profiling of potential victims," explains an expert in cyber security. "They don’t want to waste their time over people who don’t have the capacity to pay. They’re looking for individuals with substantial financial resources, often targeting those with large savings or access to credit."

This meticulous approach is a core part of their strategy. They analyse social media profiles, track online activity, and even gather personal information from various sources, including data breaches, to identify people who seem likely to have the means to comply with their demands. Once they’ve singled out a target, they craft their scams accordingly, using the victim's own personal details to make the deception more believable.

"Their knowledge of you is often what makes the scam so convincing," says Adv (Dr) Prashant Mali who holds a PhD in Cyber Law. "They exploit the data they’ve gathered about your life, interests, and even your spending habits, to create a scenario where you believe you’re being contacted by someone official, like the police or a bank."

Mali sheds light on the methods used by cybercriminals to gather the data they exploit for targeted scams. According to Mali, these criminals rely on several sources to collect personal information that allows them to profile victims with alarming precision.

"There are many ways through which data comes," Mali explains. "The first is through data mining, where they collect leaked or breached data from banks, service providers, insurance companies, etc. They take the data and mine it, conducting thorough research into the individuals they plan to target."

Data mining, which involves extracting useful information from massive sets of data, is one of the most effective ways for cybercriminals to gain access to sensitive details like bank account numbers, personal identification numbers, and even medical records. Once they have access to this information, the criminals can piece together a detailed profile of their victims, using it to manipulate them during the scam.

"The second method is through social media and professional networking sites," Mali continues. "They take the data from these platforms—Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter—and use it to gain a deeper understanding of the victim's life, interests, and connections. Social media platforms provide a wealth of information, from birthdays to relationships, locations, and personal preferences. This makes the fraudsters' approach more tailored and personal."

Moreover, these criminals now leverage sophisticated AI tools like ChatGPT to further enhance their tactics. "They use the data and AI systems like ChatGPT to automate their profiling," Mali explains. "These tools can analyse patterns in communication, identify emotional triggers, and predict how a person might respond to different types of threats. This allows them to fine-tune their scams, ensuring that they target victims in the most effective way possible."

The combination of data mining, social media intelligence, and AI-driven profiling has made these cybercrimes increasingly difficult to detect. Victims, often unaware of how much personal information they’ve shared online, find themselves at the mercy of skilled and calculating criminals.

Mali emphasises the need for law enforcement agencies to fully utilise the provisions available under the Indian legal system to combat organised cybercrime till new laws are brought in. Specifically, he points to Section 111 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) of 2023 that criminalises organised crime and which is non-bailable.

The Modus Operandi of Digital Arrest Scams

Pawan Duggal, a Supreme Court advocate and cybersecurity expert, has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of Indian victims falling prey to digital arrest scams. "More and more Indians are becoming victims of digital arrest because they believe that they can be put under arrest using technology," Duggal explains. He highlights a disturbing trend: victims, driven by fear, end up paying cyber criminals large sums of money, thinking they can avoid legal consequences. "I have handled many cases of digital arrests where victims have lost money to the tune of 1 crore to 5 crore rupees," he adds.

Duggal states that according to a recent survey, in the last four months alone, Indians have lost more than ₹2000 crores to cybercrimes, specifically those involving digital arrest. The increasing number of victims reflects the widespread nature of this fraud, making it one of the most alarming threats to digital safety in the country today.

The modus operandi of these cybercriminals is both innovative and chilling. Duggal explains the typical pattern: "People are targeted using innovative ways where they usually get a call from an unknown number. Then they are asked to switch on the video call." On the other end, a person dressed in a police uniform claims to be from a specific police station. They inform the victim that they have evidence of wrongdoing, such as involvement in illegal activities like drug trafficking or money laundering. The victim is then told that they will face prosecution under serious laws, such as the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 or other offences.

Fearing the legal consequences, the victim is instructed to make a payment to avoid being exposed to criminal charges. "People end up paying money because they are in fear," Duggal says. The scam plays on the victim's anxiety and desperation, making them believe that paying is the only way to avoid legal trouble.

The Legal Void and Its Impact on Victims

While the scale of these cybercrimes is alarming, the legal framework to address digital arrests remains inadequate. Duggal points out a major gap in the existing laws: "This is a huge challenge because we don’t have a legal framework to deal with digital arrests. It is not defined as an offence or a crime under the Information Technology Act, 2000." Despite the growth of digital crimes, India lacks clear legal provisions to classify and punish the practice of digital arrest.

Even the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 remains silent on the issue of digital arrests. "The police is also not inclined to register these cases as there are no direct provisions," Duggal states. This legal ambiguity leaves victims without the means to seek justice, as even if cases are registered under indirect provisions, they rarely lead to convictions. "There are no prosecutions yet. There are no convictions yet, and the very poor convictions for cybercrime in India is in the ratio of less than 1 percent," Duggal notes.

The Simplicity Behind Digital Crime Operations

Prasanto K. Roy, a technology writer and public policy expert, emphasises that these digital crimes do not require a high level of sophistication. "These crimes do not require a great deal of sophistication. These days scammers can easily create the environment to carry out these digital crimes," Roy explains.

He points out that creating convincing audio or visual cues, such as the sound of a walkie-talkie, traffic noise, police sirens, or background chatter, is not a challenge. "There are people creating this and making it available in the digital space," he says. 

Similarly, the use of police uniforms adds another layer of illusion. Roy notes, "These criminals do not need to have too much of investment." In his own experience with such calls, he tried to challenge the scammer's claims by asking them to show the rest of the police station. "I told them, okay now you pan and show me the rest of the police station, and they don’t do it and then they abruptly cut the call."

This simple trick is enough to exploit the vulnerability of the target. "It is not a very sophisticated operation. It relies on a certain percentage of people falling for it," Roy concludes. With a large population of potential victims—estimated at 600 to 700 million in India—just 1% falling for these scams gives cybercriminals massive profits. This shows how easy it is for fraudsters to make money by targeting people who are not suspicious enough or aware of the tactics used in these scams.

Solutions to Combat Digital Arrest Scams

Duggal offers practical solutions to address the growing issue of digital arrests. He stresses the need for a new legal framework, stating, "We need a dedicated new legal provision which makes digital arrests a distinctive cybercrime punishable with stringent imprisonment."

Duggal also highlights the importance of making the banking system more accountable, as it plays a central role in facilitating these crimes. "Banking channels are important because ultimately all the money from the victims are extorted or funneled through these banking channels," he explains. He advocates for enhanced regulation, particularly under Section 87 read with Sections 79 and 85 of the IT Act of 2000, which could require banks and financial institutions to adopt more diligent parameters to help reduce the misuse of their services by cybercriminals.

In addition, Duggal emphasises the importance of public awareness in combating these scams. "More awareness needs to be created amongst people that will make them understand that there are no provisions in the law to conduct such arrests using technology," he advises. He urges individuals to take simple yet effective actions: "The best power they have in their hands is just to cut the phone call and report such a crime. Don’t entertain any calls from unknown numbers. Even if you are taking calls, do not switch on video calls."

The Probe has sent a detailed questionnaire regarding how the government plans to tackle digital arrest scams to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). This article will be updated as soon as we receive a response from the ministry.