The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Tuesday alerted citizens against extortion and ‘Digital Arrest’ by cyber fraudsters impersonating as officials of State/Union Territory Police, Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other law enforcement agencies.

The MHA said a large number of complaints have been reported on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Across the country, several victims have lost large amounts of money to the fraudsters. This is an organized online economic crime and is learnt to be operated by cross-border crime syndicates, the MHA added.

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The fraudsters typically call a potential victim, “informing” that the victim has sent, or is the intended recipient of a parcel, which contains illegal goods, drugs, fake passports or any other contraband item.

Sometimes, they also claim that a near or dear one of the victims has been found to be involved in a crime or an accident and is in their custody.

Thereafter, a demand for money is made to compromise the “case”. In certain instances, unsuspecting victims are made to undergo “Digital Arrest” and remain visually available over Skype or other video conferencing platform to the fraudsters, till their demands are met.

The fraudsters are known to use studios modeled on Police Stations and Government offices and wear uniforms to appear genuine.

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, coordinates activities related to combating cybercrime in the country.

The MHA is closely working with other Ministries and their agencies, RBI and other organizations to counter these frauds. I4C is also providing inputs and technical support to police authorities of States/UTs for identifying and investigating the cases.

I4C has also blocked more than 1,000 Skype IDs involved in such activities, in collaboration with Microsoft. It is also facilitating blocking of SIM cards, Mobile devices and Mule bank accounts used by such fraudsters. I4C has also issued various alerts through infographics and videos on its social media platform ‘Cyberdost’ for e.g. X, Facebook, Instagram and others.

The MHA has advised citizens to be alert and spread awareness about these types of frauds. On receipt of such calls, the citizens should immediately report the incident on cybercrime helpline number 1930 or www.cybercrime.gov.in for assistance, MHA said.