Digital Arrest Scam: Steps to Check, And Report on the National Cybercrime Portal

In recent times, you might have heard about scams where people posing as police or security or government officials inform you about a crime you are involved in and then ask you for your money to be relieved. This is a digital arrest scam.

Let’s understand what is digital arrest with one example. You receive a phone call from an unknown number and the person says that there is a parcel in your name which was about to arrive but we have caught drugs in your parcel, so now you are booked! And let's assume you receive a video call on WhatsApp from an unknown number. You pick up and a man dressed up as a police officer tells you that your family member/friend is caught up doing an illegal crime and your family member/friend is reserved in jail! The next step after you start panicking is that they tell you to pay them a hefty amount and they dismiss you from this matter.

This is exactly what scammers are doing to earn your hard-earned money and in this way, they get your money and your personal details, bank details, or your payment information. These ‘scammer officials’ will digitally send you an arrest warrant, obviously fake, and then threaten you. That’s why this scam is named ‘digital arrest scam’!

Because every normal and innocent individual wants to now remove their name from this crime which never happened, they will threaten you more in the name of tax evasions, crime, and law violations, and might ask you to visit a police station or a customs office.

So now, when you deny them and ask them to relieve you, the next they do is ask you for a large sum of money. They will promise you to clear your name from the investigation and after you pay them, they will vanish immediately. Far when you wait for your ‘drugs-including parcel’ or ‘arrested-family member or friend’ to arrive, boom! You will soon get to know that this story was used to threaten you never existed. So till then when you want to take action, time flies away.

This is not only a way to get your money, but also your identity. Police or customs officers informing you about a crime and then asking you for money while depicting a fake warrant are always fake, as there is no such procedure that happens on a phone call or video call. So now, if a call like this comes to you, here is what you can do to protect yourself.

How to Avoid Becoming a Victim of Digital Arrest Scam?

To avoid becoming a victim of a digital arrest scam, here is what you can do:

• Always be aware of unknown calls and never attend to them. Because government departments always inform you to beware of these scams through SMS and calls, it is important to focus on their message and never ever respond to such calls claiming to be police officials while asking you for money.

• Let’s say you have picked up the phone call, so now make sure you are not disclosing your personal identity or bank details. Strictly do not share your personal details, bank details, credit/debit card information, information about your family/friends, their contact details, etc.

• If such a scam happens to you, the next step is to stay calm. Meanwhile, just staying calm will not help, but then you must report these scam details to your nearest police station. If not a police station, the nearest cyber crime cell or authority will help you for sure.

• Always make sure to collect as many proofs as possible related to the crime, the phone number, the audio record, the video footage, the transaction detail, the call details, screenshots, SMS, and everything you can.

Steps to Check if a Suspect is a Scammer on National Cyber Crime Portal

You can check if the personnel contacting you, suspecting to be a scammer, is actually a scammer. You can do this online on the ‘National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal’. Let’s check out how you can do this to identify a digital arrest scam.

1. Visit the official portal of the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. The official web address is: cybercrime.gov.in. You will land on this page-

   

2. Click on the ‘Report & Check Suspect’ dropdown. You will see these options.

   

3. Click on ‘Suspect Repository +’. On clicking, you will again see these options below. In a digital scam, you might encounter the scammer through SMS, email, phone number, UPI ID, or social media. Click on ‘Check Suspect (mobile, email, etc.)’

   

4. After you click on the ‘check suspect’ option, you will land on this page.

   

5. Select the medium and enter the details. If you received a call or a WhatsApp call, click on the phone number and enter the details. Enter the CAPTCHA and search. If the number is a scam, you will receive more details. If not. You will see such a pop-up.

Steps to Report a Scam Online on the National Cyber Crime Portal

In case you encounter a digital arrest scam, what is the best possible you can do next? You can either report this to the police station or cybercrime authority, offline or online. To report this scam online on the national cybercrime portal, here are the steps you must follow.

1. Visit the official portal of the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. The official web address is: cybercrime.gov.in. You will land on this page-

2. Click on ‘Register a complaint’. You will see dropdown options.

3. Click on the ‘OTHER CYBER CRIME’ option. You will land on this page.

4. As per your requirement, click on the last ‘OTHER CYBER CRIME’ fraud option to report the digital arrest scam.

5. You will land on the page where you now proceed to report the crime. Click on the ‘File a complaint’ option.

6. Accept the terms after reading the information displayed on the screen. This ensures you are filing an accurate complaint.

7. Read the checklist provided on the portal to report the complaint. You must have some details and complaint proof. After you have the documents ready, you must log in to the portal and submit the documents to proceed.

Track your Cybercrime Complaint on the National Cyber Crime Portal

After you have submitted the online complaint successfully for a digital arrest scam, you can track your complaint through the following steps:

1. On the home page of the website, you will find the ‘Track your complaint’ tab. Click on it.

2. While you submitted your report online, you received a complaint acknowledgment number. Enter the same number. OTP, and CAPTCHA to proceed.

3. Click on Submit. You will receive the status of your complaint.

Conclusion

The digital arrest news is surfacing all over as people have lost a huge amount of money, BUT you still don’t need to panic. In such times, you must beware of the tricks where you can be involved.

Did we help you? We hope you are now aware of the digital arrest scam and provided you with enough precautions you must take. If you encounter such crimes, report it through the steps we listed above. Digital arrest scams are more disastrous than they seem, as people posing as government officials can ask you for more private details and can use them for illegal purposes.

Lastly, never ever hesitate to report such crimes. Also, never hesitate to say no when you are asked to share your personal and financial details. Only trust the government and police officials in person, in the right place with more caution!