Be ware of incidents of ‘blackmail’ and ‘digital arrest’ by cyber criminals as state/UT police, NCB, CBI, RBI and other law enforcement agencies

The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) has been receiving a large number of complaints about cyber criminals posing as police authorities, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Narcotics Department, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Enforcement Directorate and other law enforcement agencies, threatening, blackmailing, extortion and ‘digital arrests’.

These fraudsters usually call up the prospective victim informing them that the victim has sent a parcel or that she wants to, which contains illegal items, drugs, fake passports or any other prohibited substance. Sometimes they also inform that the person close to the victim is found to be involved in any crime or accident and is in their custody. Money is being demanded to settle the “case”. In some cases, unidentified victims are forced to undergo “digital arrests” and the fraudsters are made available through Skype or other video conferencing platforms until their demands are met. The fraudsters k.n.

Many victims across the country have lost huge amounts of money from such criminals. It is an organised online economic offence and seems to be being driven by cross-border crime syndicates.

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, coordinates cyber crime-related activities in the country. The Ministry of Home Affairs is working closely with other ministries and their agencies, THE RBI and other organisations to tackle the fraud. I4C is also providing information and technical support to the state/UT police authorities for identification and investigation of cases.

I4C, in collaboration with Microsoft, has also blocked more than 1,000 Skype IDs involved in such activities. There is also the facility of blocking SIM cards, mobile devices and Mule accounts used by such fraudsters. I4C has issued various alerts on its social media platform ‘Cyberdust’ through infographics and videos for X, Facebook, Instagram and others.

Citizens have been advised to be aware of such frauds and create awareness. After receiving such a call, citizens will immediately report the incident to the cyber crime helpline number.