Curbing the Threat of ‘Digital Arrest’ Scams

The Supreme Court has done the right thing by taking suo motu cognisance of a case of ‘digital arrest’, in which an elderly couple from Ambala lost their savings to scammers. This group has for quite some time continued to dupe people by weaving a web of fear around selected individuals and succeeding in pressuring them by displaying fake income tax notices, police warrants, and other such documents. It is time for us to realise that these are not ordinary cybercrimes; rather, they pose a grave threat to our national security, public trust, and judicial integrity if not prevented in time. It is a systematic attack on the prevailing system by a handful of people who seem to be experts in manipulating technology. There is a strong possibility that these people are being aided by anti-India forces interested in weakening the country through different means, run by highly professional individuals or cyber syndicates.

So far, India’s response to this menace has proven insufficient and has failed to deter these scammers from duping people. The rising number of such crimes stands as testimony to this fact. We are yet to understand that these are no ordinary crimes; rather, they are aimed at destroying society. To combat them in a traditional way will be a mistake. Considering the magnitude of the crime, we need a coordinated effort by the Centre, the state governments, banking authorities, and law enforcement agencies. Otherwise, the authorities will always remain crippled when acting against a group of white-collar criminals, despite the modus operandi remaining the same.

For instance, the cyber cell is in no position to block any suspected account, which can be done only by a bank. Therefore, banks must always be in the loop to freeze any suspicious accounts. This also exposes the fact that we are not properly equipped to confront the scammers, who depend on their skills in manipulating technology and their ability to create psychological fear. So far, we have very little or no information about them, despite the fact that they continue to make calls from spoofed numbers and sometimes show fake office backgrounds to lend authenticity to their endeavour. It is still not known from where these calls are made and where these fake offices are situated. To bring out the truth, we may consider initiating a cyber cell under the External Affairs Ministry to seek the help of foreign countries in preventing this proxy war from escalating further.

Here, it should not be forgotten that lukewarm responses from our side will only embolden the scammers to loot more people, especially the elderly, of their life savings. Hopefully, the Supreme Court’s intervention will make us realise the mistakes we have made in judging the nature of the crime. We must ensure justice to the victims through a strong national response, apart from launching public awareness campaigns and informing people that there is nothing called a ‘digital arrest’ in our law.