With several persons including celebrities falling prey to ‘digital arrest’ scam, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned the public to beware of such fraudsters and alert cyber crime police if they come across such calls. Modi raised the issue during his ‘Mann ki Baat’ broadcast on Sunday.
In his 115th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat,’ a monthly radio programme, PM Modi highlighted the rising number of cases of digital arrest. The prime minister asked people to not panic and to take three steps to digital security instead while receiving fake calls. Awareness is essential in protecting oneself from this scam of ‘digital arrest’, he added.
“There is no system like digital arrest in the law, this is just fraud, deceit, lie, a gang of criminals and those who are doing this are enemies of the society. Various investigative agencies are working in collaboration with the state governments to deal with the fraud that is going on in the name of digital arrest. The National Cyber Coordination Centre has been established to create coordination among these agencies,” PM Modi said.
Explaining the modus operandi of the fraudsters, Modi advised listeners to follow the mantra of ‘Stop – Think – Take Action’. The prime minister said surprising the caller is their first move and scammers initially collect personal information of the individual.
“The Second move – create an atmosphere of fear… uniform, government office setup, legal sections… they will scare you so much on the phone… In the midst of the conversation, you will not be able to think. And then their third move begins.
“The third move – the time pressure. ‘You have to decide now or else you will be arrested’ – these people create so much psychological pressure on the victim that one gets scared. People from every class and age group fall victim to digital arrest. People have lost lakhs of rupees earned through their hard work, out of sheer fear,” Modi added.
Warning listeners, Modi said no investigative agency will ever contact by phone or video call for such an investigation. “Dial the national cyber helpline 1930, Report on cybercrime.gov.in, inform family and police, preserve evidence,” the PM said. “Record such conversations and also take screenshots,” he added.