DT Explains | For digital arrest scamsters, it all starts with your social media profile
Cyber Crime police stations across Tamil Nadu have registered 298 cases and arrested over 60 suspects so far this year in connection with the ‘Digital Arrest’ scam, a cyber fraud that was highlighted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his October episode of Mann Ki Baat. How do scammers get your information? What’s their modus operandi?
Representative Illustration
CHENNAI: Many use social media sites like Facebook and Instagram like a diary of incidents and achievements in their life – small, milestones and everything in between. For fraudsters, these ‘digital footprints’ are a repository of information they use for profiling their potential targets for the ‘Digital arrest’ scam, after they get hold of names and phone numbers.
‘Digital arrest’ involves scammers calling potential targets – meaning you – impersonating as law enforcement officers, typically from Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Mumbai Police among others and fabricating a scenario that would scare you into doing exactly what they want you to do.
Social media, the source
“For instance, through social media, the scammer knows that your son is a college student. The scammer would falsely claim that the child is involved in a serious crime and threaten them with legal consequences. To make their story more convincing, they would provide fake case numbers and also tell instances from their lives, which were taken from their social media handle,” said a senior police officer with Tamil Nadu Police's Cyber Crime wing headquarters.
Even your child’s harmless birthday celebration, in which the child’s voice is audible, can be used by scamsters to spoof the voice using AI (Artificial Intelligence) and use it to their advantage, say police officials. “Any event in your life can be exploited,” the official added.
The caller then isolates the victim by instructing him/her to stay on the phone and not contact anyone else and convinces the victim to make a payment.
While anyone can become a victim of a digital arrest scam, irrespective of age, gender or financial status, scammers, so far, have largely targeted senior citizens and retired government employees, say police officials.
Scarily common
In September, the Greater Chennai Police (GCP) rescued a senior engineer with Southern Railways from a lodge in Periamet. The engineer had locked himself up for two days believing fraudsters who had threatened to arrest him by claiming to be Mumbai Police and demanded that he cough up Rs 5 crore to escape arrest.
The fraudsters had told him that an arrest warrant had been issued in his name for the alleged misappropriation in a loan obtained for a railway project.
They convinced him to cooperate for an enquiry via video conference to see if they could clear him of the case and suggested that he stay in a room without any disturbances from friends or family members.
“They threatened to send the local police to secure him immediately if he does not co-operate and that his photos would be published in the media,” narrates a police officer.
The official left home without informing his family and booked a room at a lodge in Periamet, near the Southern Railway headquarters, where he stayed for two days and was on a video conference marathon with the ‘Mumbai Police’. Meanwhile, his wife filed a missing complaint with Teynampet police, who traced him to the lodge and secured him, and learnt about the events of the past 48 hours.
The police explained to the railway officer that he was a victim of a common cyber fraud and sent him back home.
About a week ago, fraudsters had tried the same modus operandi with a senior police officer where they claimed that her Aadhaar number was used in a drug consignment addressed to a foreign country and threatened her with arrest.
Call 1930 immediately
“There is nothing called ‘Digital arrest’ in this world. People should stay aware and be vigil if they receive such phone calls and should be bold enough to handle it and not panic,” said Sandeep Mittal, additional director general of police (ADGP), Cyber Crime wing, TN. “Call the helpline 1930 at any time during day and night. It’s the first line of defence in cases where money is lost. In cases of non-financial crimes, complaints can be registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.”
He added that it would be prudent to register a complaint with 1930 without any delay in case money is lost instead of visiting a police station and wasting ‘the golden hours’ to retrieve the lost money.
“In one recent case, a victim sent over a crore to scamsters. He realised he was conned and filed a complaint within seven hours. But, even when we tried to freeze the fraudster’s account and retrieve the money within an hour of receiving the complaint, we found that the money was already disbursed in 263 transactions,” explained a senior police officer.
Two weeks ago, a Cyber Crime team from Chennai police had arrested Partha Pratim Bora (38) from Assam for duping several persons including a retired government official in Chennai by ‘Digital Arrest’ scam. On checking his bank accounts, police found that he had received Rs 3.8 crore in a single day from eight transactions and transferred the amount to 178 bank accounts belonging to his handlers on a single day. Earlier this week, they arrested four of his associates.
Stakeholders’ help
ADGP Mittal said that banks should advise branch managers to be watchful of large transactions, especially involving senior citizens.
“There are instances where senior citizen victims break their Fixed Deposits running into crores to pay the fraudsters. The Branch Manager should intervene in such cases,” he pointed out.
Tamil Nadu police said that they have sought cooperation from all stakeholders like banks, telecom providers, internet providers and other relevant entities to help victims and also to trace fraudsters. However, social media sites prove to be challenging.
“Most of them claim to be governed by laws of the country of incorporation and consistently refuse to cooperate with the legal requests of the law enforcement agency. Tamil Nadu police have approached a competent authority in the Government of India to enact stricter punishment for refusal to cooperate with the local law enforcement agencies,” a top police officer said.
Colossal Loss
· In the first nine months of 2024, denizens had lost up to Rs 189 crore to cyber fraudsters. Overall, in TN, the loss totals to Rs 1,100 crore
· Out of the 1,679 Cyber Crime cases reported in Chennai, 1,589 were financial cases in which the public was cheated through various scams such as Online Share Trading, Digital Arrest-FedEx/courier/TRAI, Skype, online part-time jobs, matrimonial gifts, EB bill scams etc.
General Advisory to Public
· If they guarantee exorbitant profits, the chances of fraud are high – people are advised to remain vigilant.
· Do not share personal or financial information over the phone with unknown individuals.
· Fraudsters create a sense of urgency, leaving little time for thought. Consult reliable friends or family before taking action.
· Stay informed about cyber frauds and their deceptive techniques. Being vigilant is crucial to preventing crime.
· Regularly check your bank and loan accounts for unauthorised transactions.
· Use two-factor authentication for important accounts.
· Furthermore, the public is advised against lending their bank accounts or cryptocurrency wallets, as such accounts can be misused for financial fraud by cyber fraudsters.
Dial 1930 to report
· If you have fallen victim to such scams, dial 1930 for toll-free assistance provided by Cyber Crime wing or register your complaint at www.cybercrime.gov.in
· Do not miss the Golden Hour – the first few hours – to recover money you lost to cyber frauds. Dial the helpline 1930 ASAP
· 1930 is a 24x7 helpline number that’s your first line of defence in cases where money is lost. In cases of non-financial crimes, complaints can be registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal.
· A recent Madras HC circular has instructed all judicial officers that the recovery process of money lost in financial Cyber Crimes can be started based on the complaint registered in NCRP followed by a report submitted by the police without insisting on FIR.
· Based on the NCRP acknowledgment and the police report, victims can file a petition under Section 503 BNSS in their jurisdictional court to claim the amount frozen in suspected bank accounts without waiting for an FIR to be registered.
