Online scammers posing as police have launched a multi-million euro “digital arrest” scam in India, targeting prominent figures such as judges, journalists and business leaders. This sophisticated cybercrime scheme has become a major concern as criminals hold individuals to ransom under the guise of law enforcement.
In August, Indian textile tycoon S.P. Oswal, chairman of the Vardhman Group, paid €770,000 to scammers posing as federal agents who accused him of money laundering.
The 82-year-old was placed under video surveillance at home and threatened with arrest until he paid the ransom.
This “digital arrest” scam has ensnared other high-profile victims, including court judges, doctors and army officers.
Between January and March alone, victims transferred roughly €1.3 million to scammers despite campaigns against the fraud.
Deadly toolkit
According to Faisal Kawoosa, chief analyst at technology consultancy firm Techarc, the scam appears to be evolving.
“The government and regulatory bodies have come up with measures to make it difficult for scammers to use traditional means such as phishing, so they have found this new technique,” Kawsoosa told RFI.
“But these have limited shelf-life as everybody eventually comes to understand that a scam like this exists,” he added.
A report from May found that 46 percent of cyber attacks targeting India originated from Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia, prompting Indian officials to engage in talks on cross-border cybercrime in Southeast Asia.
State-run Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (ICCC) estimates Indians who endured various forms of online attacks lost 18 billion rupees – approximately 2 billion euros – in four months at the beginning of this year.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged students to back state campaigns under hashtag #SafeDigitalIndia.
"No government agency threatens you on the phone like this, neither inquires nor demands money on a video call like this..." Modi said in a radio interview on the subject of digital arrest.
According to ICCC, India registered some 741,000 cybercrime complaints in the first four months of 2024 – a jump of 113 percent from 2021 to 2023.
'Held hostage'
TV journalist Richa Mishra – who was a victim of digital arrest – conceded she was bewildered and anxious during her hours-long ordeal on 5 October.
“At one point I was thinking of ending my life,” said Mishra, who was accused of drug trafficking when she was held hostage by online imposters.
Mishra later said it took her several hours to register a complaint with portals set up as security beacons.
Police recently arrested a man in a Delhi suburb for allegedly laundering €100,000 on behalf of scammers.
The role of banks in facilitating these transactions has come under scrutiny, with revelations that while scammers funnel billions of rupees through banks, less than 2 percent of stolen funds is recovered.
Online financial fraud has surged 1,000 percent over the past five years in India, with 955 million internet users and 536 million WhatsApp subscribers – key targets for cybercriminals.
From January to April this year alone, India registered over 700,000 cybercrime complaints following 1.5 million reports in 2023.
