Posing as CBI officers, the fraudsters enforced a “digital arrest” by holding her under constant Skype surveillance. They used threats of arrest to coerce her into sharing all financial details and to make 187 bank transfers.
Tag: Digital arrest
Spate of ‘digital arrest’ crimes shake India; Supreme Court seeks response from Centre
“Digital arrest” refers to scammers posing as officials from some law enforcement-related institution or the other — anything from police to courts — and telling people through online communication that they are “under arrest” for some (imaginary) violation of the law.
Digital arrest scam: Fraudsters posing as ED and CBI officials dupe 72-year-old Indian man of USD 6.6 million
The INR 58 crore loss could be one of the largest reported in a ‘digital arrest’ cyber fraud case involving an individual, an official said.
Digital arrest: Frightening and painful scam that robs victims of their life’s savings
With several cases reported from Singapore and India recently, the modus operandi of digital arrest is to make victims believe that they are under the scanner of law enforcement and that they must fully “co-operate with the police” in order to avoid criminal prosecution. As expected, this “co-operation” involves handing over financial control to the scammers, after which the victim is bled dry.
