A digital arrest scam is a rising popular crime where scammers are much educated and smart enough to befool people at large. This is a type of cybercrime where fraudsters impersonate themselves as law enforcement officials. They become sometimes very difficult to trace. They are highly trained and employed to catch the prey. They gain expertise in reading mindsets of a person. People with common interest join in such a scam. They make quick money out of this witty job. Sometimes they grab handsome bucks within seconds. Now the thing of concern is that, a mass people are neither educated nor aware of such scams and thereby they suffer a great loss in their hands.
These scammers pose themselves to be very sophisticated to victimize and hold their control over people. They mostly contact people through phone calls, social media, sometimes they text messages to wrongly accuse people of involving in criminal cases, money laundering, tax evasion and so on. Once they succeed, they are all done to leave you penniless. Now, people must be educated in this field to shield and protect oneself, otherwise they feed scammers heavily by their hard earned money. Their mouths are wide open to swallow as much as they can.
Now comes, how this scam works and accomplishes things it intends to:
- Intimidation: The scammers threat their victims to ease their work. These threats are very real- like. Legal actions are very frightful and it’s been used the most.
- Scammer’s impersonation: They often pretend to be law enforcement officials or use official sounding titles. Police officials are their first choice.
- False Accusation: People are felt accused of cybercrimes and various others. Ignorant people fall prey to it.
- Demanding Money: Victims are often pressurized to pay an amount as fine or bribe to avoid legal hazards or a police arrest.
- Stealing Data: They attempt to steal personal information like bank account details and passwords.
Our honorable Prime Minister revealed a data that in the first quarter of 2024, India lost Rs 120.3 crore to such scammers. This is a huge loss for the nation.
During the address, PM Modi further added that these fraudsters sometimes impersonate as police officials, CBI, Bank personnel and so on. They create fear whoever they talk to victimize. Our people must become aware because it’s high time to get alert and rise before we suffer loss after loss.
How to protect yourself:
- It is advisable not to share any personal information and bank details over phone or online before you are absolutely certain of their authenticity.
- Never answer calls from unknown numbers. Their most powerful weapon are the calls by which they hypnotize by their soft tone and powerful speech. They control over the mind.
- Whenever you receive a suspicious call or message try to cross- check it with Govt. trusted websites or such authentic sources.
- Never make impulsive decisions. The scammers create several fears. They pose as very genuine and busy, so that you make haste and trust them.
- If you find or believe yourself targeted by a digital arrest scam, report immediately to cybercrime authorities.
If you follow these above mentioned measures to save yourself or your close ones, you’re a responsible person and a good citizen who knows his rights well and educate some other else to not become a prey to such scammers. Educating one means educating many as the chain continues.
