Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda on Tuesday appealed public to remain cautious and not fall for the cyber crimes. He alerted public of the new type of scam, 'digital arrest'. In this scam, cyber fraudsters extort money by impersonating government officials and claiming to enforce a 'digital arrest'. Dayananda further said the police have been receiving several complaints about individuals being intimidated by this arrest and suffering financial losses.
'there is no concept like digital arrest'
Commissioner B Dayananda explained in a press conference that there are standard procedures where police issue notices or arrest the person physically and there is no concept of digital arrest. "We want to reiterate, as we have done multiple times through our social media channels, that there is no concept of digital arrest in our legal statutes or Constitution.
Police actions are based strictly on legal provisions, and there is no provision for digital arrest.
"If we arrest someone, they must be produced before the jurisdictional magistrate within 24 hours, and remand or custody must be obtained. Cyber fraudsters, however, falsely claim digital arrests, detain victims for days or weeks, and extort money," he added.
Engineering lost Rs 11.8 crore in this scam
Bengaluru police commissioner highlighted the case of a 39-year-old software engineer who lost Rs 11.8 crore to the digital arrest scam. The engineer was contacted by the fraudsters impersonating police officials who claimed that his Aadhaar card was being misused to open bank accounts for money laundering.
He was threatened that he will be physically arrested in connection with money laundering. Bengaluru-based engineer also got a call from a person asking him to download the Skype app following which a man, allegedly dressed in Mumbai police uniform video-called him and claimed that a businessman had opened a bank account using his Aadhaar to conduct transactions worth Rs 6 crore.
To avoid legal actions, the engineer transferred a total sum of Rs 11.8 crore in multiple transactions to various bank accounts over a period of time.
Commissioner cautioned public
The Commissioner alerted the public against attending unknown calls or falling for these cyber tactics. "If you receive suspicious calls or video calls, remain alert.
Do not entertain unknown callers or share personal information such as your name, address, Aadhaar card, or PAN card number. Validate any claims through your local police station or trusted individuals," he advised via the press conference.
Commissioner further requested people to dial 1930 for assistance in tracing and blocking fraudulent accounts to recover lost funds.
