“ഡിജിറ്റൽ അറസ്റ്റ്” കോൾ: സത്യമോ തട്ടിപ്പോ?

"Digital arrest" calls from fake police, CBI or customs

A caller claiming to be from the police, CBI, ED, an anti-terrorism squad, TRAI or customs says your Aadhaar, phone number or a parcel in your name is linked to money laundering, drugs or a terror investigation. They move you to a video call, show fake ID cards and a fake police station backdrop, and keep you on the line - now for days or weeks - while you transfer money to a 'safe account' to avoid arrest.

⚙️ How it works

Fear and isolation. You are told you are under 'digital arrest' and must not hang up or tell anyone. There is no such thing as a digital arrest under Indian law. The pretext has been escalating: alongside the parcel and Aadhaar stories, callers now say your identity has come up in an investigation into a terror attack and present themselves as Anti-Terrorist Squad officers, because a national-security accusation makes arguing feel dangerous rather than merely expensive. The hold has also stretched. What used to be one frightening afternoon now runs for weeks of daily calls, with transfers extracted again and again over that whole period - one 89-year-old in Lucknow was kept under continuous control for 22 days and lost about Rs 16.09 lakh. Very old people living alone are the preferred target, because the isolation the scam depends on is easy to maintain. A newer opening comes from a 'Data Protection Department': in October 2026 a 65-year-old Mumbai advocate was told 20 complaints had been filed against him, then got a WhatsApp video call from a fake sub-inspector who said a bank account opened with his Aadhaar had received Rs 20 crore used by a banned organisation. Over the next days the 'officer' asked about his family's jobs, daily routines, when they come home and how much gold they own, then told him to move his cash and assets 'to the RBI' for checking. He sent Rs 10.20 lakh by RTGS before his daughter told him arrests do not happen this way. You can also be made to borrow. In a 2024 case, a 32-year-old Bengaluru woman said fraudsters posing as Mumbai police and an RBI official made her apply for an instant personal loan of Rs 50 lakh during the calls; it arrived within 15 minutes and they had her add three beneficiaries and send it to them. The loan stayed unpaid, and the bank began criminal proceedings after an instalment payment instruction for Rs 52.41 lakh bounced. On 16 October 2026 the Karnataka High Court refused to quash them, noting that OTPs went to

🚩 Red flags

• A police, court, 'Data Protection Department' or other agency contacting you over WhatsApp or a video call
• Being told to stay on the call and not speak to family, a lawyer or your bank
• 'Police' from another city or state's crime branch call about a case you have never heard of
• The caller says your name or Aadhaar has surfaced in a terrorism, money-laundering or national-security investigation
• Questions about your family's routines, when they are out, or how much gold and cash you keep
• Any demand to transfer money to a 'safe', 'RBI' or 'verification' account, to apply for an instant loan during the call, or calls that go on day after day

✅ What to do

• Hang up. No agency arrests anyone over a video call or asks for money to avoid arrest.
• Do not transfer anything, and never apply for a loan on a caller's instructions. Call a family member and your bank on their official numbers.
• Paying once never ends it - the callers come back for more. Stop, hang up and call 1930.
• Never tell a caller what gold or cash is kept at home or when family members are out.
• Tell one person - family, a neighbour, anyone - before you do anything the caller asked. Breaking the isolation is what ends this scam.
• Report the number on cybercrime.gov.in or call 1930 (the national cyber-fraud helpline).
• If money already left your account, call 1930 immediately - the first hour matters most.
• If an elderly relative lives alone, tell them about this one by name; they are who the callers look for, and a long call they will not explain is the sign.

Source: mypunepulse.com