Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the 115th episode of Mann Ki Baat on Sunday, warned the country about the fear-mongering “digital arrest” tactic being used to dupe Indians out of millions of rupees. He highlighted the social engineering tactics scammers use to target victims by exploiting people’s fear and creating “psychological pressure”. In response to this, Modi emphasized the need for people to stop, think and then act when they receive such calls.

“People of all classes and age groups are falling victim to digital arrest. People lost tons of rupees earned by their hard work just because of fear. Don’t be afraid when you receive such a call. “You should know that no investigative agency has ever conducted such interrogations via phone call or video call,” he said.

Modi explained the method used by fraudsters: First, collect personal information about the victim so that they believe it is a genuine call from a government or law enforcement agency like police, CBI, NCB, customs department, Telecom Regulatory Authority. India etc.

In many calls, perpetrators claim that the package sent to the victim was intercepted because it contained illegal goods or drugs. Or they may state that a person close to the victim is involved in a crime and must therefore be placed under “digital arrest” so that they can be visually monitored via Skype or another video conferencing platform until demands are met.

Second, create an atmosphere of fear. “Uniform, government office order, legal departments. They will scare you so much on the phone. “You won’t even be able to think in the middle of the speech,” Modi said. he said.

Third, create a sense of urgency. “ ‘You must decide now, or you will be arrested.’ These people create so much psychological pressure on the victim that people get scared,” Modi said.

‘Stop, think, act to counter this’: Modi

To counter this, Modi said people should not be afraid when they receive such calls. The first step is to “stop.” “Stop as soon as you receive a call. Do not panic, stay calm, do not take hasty steps, do not give your personal information to anyone. If possible, take a screenshot and save it,” he said.

The second is “thinking”. “No government agency will threaten you like this over the phone, nor will it ask questions or demand money during a video call. “If you are afraid, know that something is wrong,” he said.

The third is to “take action” by reporting the situation to the national cyber helpline 1930, cybercrime.gov.in portal, informing the family and police, and preserving the evidence.

Modi reiterated that there is no legal concept of “digital arrest”. “(T)his is just a fraud, a deception, a lie, a gang of criminals and those who are doing this are the enemies of society,” he said, while underlining the entire approach the government has taken to deal with the situation. this includes the establishment of the Indian Cyber ​​Crime Coordination Center (I4C).

Shubham Singh, a cybersecurity consultant who regularly works with the Maharashtra Police, said that in some cases, especially those involving women, victims were blackmailed using non-consensual intimate images.

“In one case I worked on, a victim fell for the trick. During the video call, the fraudsters told her to take off her clothes for ‘detection of body prints’. The fraudsters recorded the video and sent it via WhatsApp to blackmail him. He then contacted me and I told him to temporarily deactivate all his social media accounts or make them private. I told him to report the crime on cybercrime.gov.in or visit the nearest cyber cell. Luckily, in the video, she had covered her face with a scarf,” said Singh.

Government’s holistic approach to solve the problem

The Prime Minister said that thousands of fake video calling IDs have been blocked by institutions. “Dozens of SIM cards, mobile phones and bank accounts were also blocked. Agencies are doing their job, but it is very important for everyone to be aware, for every citizen to be aware, to protect themselves from frauds called digital arrests,” Modi said.

Departments and institutions involved in the investigation of these crimes include the Union ministry of home affairs (through I4C), ministry of IT, department of telecommunications (DoT), department of financial services (DFS), department of economic affairs (DEA), department of revenue (DOR). , Reserve Bank of India (RBI), TRAI and numerous banks and payment service providers, as well as telecommunication companies and social media companies.

This month, DoT launched the ‘International Inbound Anti-Spoof Call System’, which can detect and block spam international calls that display Indian numbers as caller ID, in two phases; This is a key part of what enables this type of fraudulent business.

On May 14, I4C issued an alert warning citizens about “digital arrests.” It was later said, “This is an organized online economic crime and it has been learned that it is committed by cross-border criminal organizations.” I4C CEO Rajesh Kumar said at the time that the agency was working with Microsoft to develop a system that uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to track Skype IDs misusing official logos in screenshots.