INTRODUCTION
The Internet and mobile phones have made our lives easy. But this technology came with its challenges. Cyber crimes have increased with the increase in technology. Cybercrime is the crime committed through devices and the internet by hacking, stealing data, phishing, carding, and digital theft. Digital arrest is a situation where a team of scammers makes a person believe that he/she is under digital arrest and must be under surveillance 24/7 to avoid being taken to physical custody. In reality, there is nothing as called ‘digital arrest’ in our laws. No person would be kept under digital arrest, but people get scammed due to a lack of knowledge of the law and manipulative techniques.
HOW DO THESE SCAMMERS SCAM PEOPLE?
These scammers have some personal data of the target. The technique of initiating a call can be different, but one of the ways is that they call the person as a customs officer from the airport and tell them that a parcel, containing drugs, has been found under their name, which has been attempted to export out of India. The first call is to analyse if the target is easy to manipulate. If the scammer finds that the target is easy to manipulate and threaten, they ask the victim to report to a police station in another city within a stipulated time to make the person panic. Then they make the person believe that they will be physically arrested if they do not comply with digital arrest. The victim is sent a fake FIR and fake notices, which are presented in such a way that they seem authentic. Even the statement of the victim is taken by fake police personnel. The person is asked to be on a video call on WhatsApp or Skype for a whole day. They are also asked not to inform anyone about the arrest. Even a fake court is set up, and fake court proceedings can be started, and all the fake documents are sent to the victim to make him/her believe that a lawful process is going on. After that, the victim is asked to submit security money to the RBI’s account and/or court fees. They are told that if they are found not guilty, their money will be sent back. Once these scammers get the money, they disappear, and the victim loses his/her hard-earned money. These scammers create mental pressure on the victims to make hasty decisions and threaten them to make them comply with all the instructions. The above-presented way is just one of the ways to commit digital arrest fraud. The scammers play with people’s minds and lack of knowledge to defraud them.
INCREASING TRENDS OF DIGITAL ARRESTS IN INDIA
The digital arrest fraud started in 2022, and by 2024, it had multiplied 21 times[1]. Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar told the parliament that according to the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP), 39,925 digital arrest cases were reported and Rs. 91.14 crore were defrauded in 2022. In 2024, the number of cases increased to 1,23,672, and the total amount defrauded reached Rs. 19,35.51 crore. Within 2 months of 2025, 17,718 cases of digital arrest fraud and defrauded amount of Rs. 210.21 crore have been reported.[2] It is not the case that only uneducated people have been the victims of these scams. The digital arrest scam has affected very educated people of India, be it a doctor, a businessman, a social media influencer, a retired professor or a retired army officer. They have been defrauded by these scammers and lost crores of rupees. It was due to a lack of awareness of the fact that there is a thing called ‘Digital Arrest’ in legal procedure.
LEGAL CHALLENGES
The digital arrest scammers have a full-fledged network. Several bank account holders are caught, but their masterminds are difficult to reach due to a lack of evidence. Also, it has been found that these scams are carried out by people of Indian descent sitting in Vietnam, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos.[3] These scammers are those Indian people who have been fraudulently brought to these countries under the pretext of providing them with work, and then forcing them into illegal activities.[4] The masterminds of these scams are difficult to catch, as there exist several middlemen between. The masterminds use sophisticated technology to stay ahead of law enforcement bodies. People who are operating outside the jurisdiction of our country need to be extradited, which is a time-consuming process in itself.
RIGHTS UNDER THREAT
Due to Digital Arrest fraud, several rights of individuals are violated. They suffer through mental agony due to the theft of their money. One of the most important fundamental rights, i.e., the Right to Privacy, is violated. Their data is stolen. Also, the initial information that the scammers have, for example, the last digits of the Aadhaar card number, shows that the leaks are present through those websites that have the responsibility of keeping citizens’ data safe under the Information Technology Act 2000 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR DIGITAL ARRESTS
The applicable laws in these cases are the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the Information Technology Act, 2000. Section 318 of BNS, 2023 is applicable, which defines cheating and prescribes the punishment for this offence. It says that whoever, by deceiving any person, fraudulently or dishonestly induces the person so deceived to deliver any property, is said to cheat.[5] It also prescribes the punishment of imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with a fine, or with both.[6] The relevant sections of the IT Act, 2000, applicable are Section 66c, which prescribes punishment for identity theft, Section 66d, which prescribes punishment for cheating by personation using any communication device or computer resource and Section 72, which addresses penalties for breach of confidentiality and privacy.[7]
MEASURES TAKEN BY THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Government of India, in cooperation with telecom industries, RBI and State Governments, has taken steps to increase awareness among the masses about the digital arrest scams. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) is established to deal with all kinds of online fraud.[8] Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, in the ‘Man Ki Baat’ radio programme, in October 2024, warned citizens of India against the digital arrest scam, which can eat up their hard-earned savings. The central government and Telecom Service providers have devised a system to identify and block spoofed calls. To increase awareness among the masses, a press release regarding cases of digital arrest fraud has been issued. Along with that, caller tunes to increase the awareness of online scams are released. Social media, electronic media, newspaper advertisements and announcements in Delhi Metros have been modes of spreading awareness among the masses.[9] Till 15 November 2024, more than 6.69 SIM cards and 1,32,000 IMEIS, as reported by Police authorities, have been blocked by the Government of India.[10] The government has released a toll-free number 1930 to assist people in lodging online cyber complaints. As of 2024, more than 9.94 lakh complaints were lodged, in which more than Rs. 3431 crores were saved.[11]
WAY FORWARD
The government has done its part in informing people about the digital arrest scams. Further, citizens need to be vigilant of such attempts and report such incidents to the law enforcement bodies to save other people from becoming victims of such scammers. The government needs to catch up with the evolving methods of fraudsters to keep citizens of India safe. There exists a pressing need to keep the personal data of the citizens safe. The governments need to take both substantive and procedural steps in this regard.
CONCLUSION
The crime of digital arrest fraud comes under cyber crime’s category. There do exist laws against these crimes, but due to evolving techniques of the scammers, it becomes difficult for law enforcement bodies to prevent cybercrimes. Digital Arrest has become a business for the masterminds of this crime. They remain out of the sight of law enforcement bodies by keeping many middlemen, making it very difficult to trace them. They avoid leaving digital footprints to be safe from the reach of law enforcement bodies. Our law enforcement bodies need to enhance their technological capabilities by increasing innovation, research and development to create advanced technology to catch these perpetrators of the law. Robust data protection measures are needed. The leak of the personal data of the victims is the first step in cybercrime. Hence, a comprehensive data protection framework can prevent such severe crimes as digital arrests. Further, making justice accessible to the victims is very important to restore their confidence in the digital sphere by implementing the laws efficiently and effectively.
Author(s) Name: Divya Sati (University Institute of Legal Studies, Panjab University, Chandigarh)
References:
[1] ‘Digital arrests, cyber crimes tripled during 2022-24, govt tells Parliament’ (Business Standard, 12 March 2025) < https://www.business-standard.com/india-news/digital-arrests-cyber-crimes-tripled-during-2022-24-govt-tells-parliament-125031200978_1.html> accessed 27 April 2025
[2] Ibid
[3] Manisha Pandey, ‘International link emerges in digital arrest scam racket busted by India Today’ (India Today, 29 October 2024) < https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/international-link-emerges-digital-arrest-scam-racket-busted-by-india-today-2624999-2024-10-29> accessed 27 April 2025
[4] Ibid
[5] Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, s 318(1)
[6] Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, s 318(4)
[7] Information Technology Act 2000
[8] ‘Digital Arrest Scam’ (PIB Delhi, 10 December 2024) <https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2082761> accessed 27 April 2025
[9] Ibid
[10] Ibid
[11] Ibid
