A new kind of cybercrime involving the threat of “digital arrest” has surfaced wherein a person is digitally monitored without their knowledge and is duped of lakhs of rupees by fraudsters posing as customs officials. Earlier this month, a 23-year-old woman from Haryana’s Faridabad was duped of Rs 2.5 lakh and arrested digitally by cybercriminals. According to police, an FIR was registered in connection with the case based on a complaint filed by the woman.
According to a PTI report, the victim, in her complaint, said she received a call on October 12 and the caller introduced himself as a customs officer in Lucknow.
The caller told her that a parcel containing a large number of passports and other cards was being sent to Cambodia using her Aadhaar number and advised her to register a complaint with the police or else she would have to appear in a court in Lucknow.
Afterwards, the woman received a call on Skype and the caller introduced a few men in police uniforms, one of whom informed her that an FIR was already registered against her.
The man in police uniform e even mentioned the name of a bank official and told her that he was accused of human trafficking and she was associated with him.
“They also cited some complaints in which people have said that they have given money to me to send children abroad and (I) duped them of around Rs 3.80 crore. Later, a man posing as a CBI officer told me that I have to pay five per cent of the amount, that is Rs 15 lakh, and when I expressed my inability, he said that they are arresting me digitally,” the woman added.
She further said that while the caller instructed her not to log off Skype, she had transferred Rs 2.5 lakh to a bank account shared by the cybercriminals.
“After that, he kept pressuring me to tell him my father’s ATM card details. After several days of efforts, when the accused were not successful in taking more money, they told me that now they are ending my digital arrest and I can log out of my Skype account,” she said.
A police officer said this was “a different kind of case of cyber fraud” and that the matter was being investigated
What is “Digital Arrest”?
While the term itself is made up, it is associated with the practice of monitoring a person digitally via audio-video calls. Neither the person is allowed to disconnect the call, nor they are informed that they’re being monitored.
In the case of cyber fraud involving the Faridabad woman, she did not tell her family members, who also lived in the same house, about her “17-day-long digital arrest”.
How to Protect Your Children From Cyber Crime?
- Start conversations with your kids about online safety, cyber threats and the importance of privacy.
- Set up protective safeguards for your child’s safe digital experience.
- Avoid providing any One Time Password (OTP), Aadhaar number, bank account information, or any other sensitive data over phone calls without proper verification.
- Teach your kids to be aware of online risks, unknown callers and people impersonating bank, police or any other officials.
- Tell your kids the risks of sharing personal information and interacting with strangers online.
- In case of a cybercrime, you can report it on 155260 or you can file a complaint on cybercrime.gov.in
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