Digital arrest scams are illegal and have no legal standing in India, necessitating public awareness and legislative measures to combat them.

ORDER :

By the Court:

1. Day in and day out it has been observed by this court in several electronic, print and social media reports that over the last few years, Cyber Crimes and the offences like ‘digital arrest’ have increased worldwide and in our country thousands of innocent people have been trapped in it and they have lost huge amount of their hard earned money and also lost their lives. Increase of ‘digital arrest’ cases have been highlighted the alarming rise of such scams targeting the individuals from every walk of life.

2. 'Digital arrest' is a new and innovative tactic employed by scammers/cybercriminals to defraud gullible victims and extort money. The modus operandi in this cybercrime method is that fraudsters pose as law enforcement officials such as Police, Enforcement Directorate, CBI, etc. and manipulate them into believing that they have committed some serious crime.

3. The scammers deceive the victim into believing that he or she has been put under ‘digital arrest' and will be prosecuted if he/she does not pay the scammers an amount of money as demanded by them. As per cyber experts, the fraudsters in this tactic are using fear and sense of urgency against the victims and ensure that they part with their money before they realize that it is a scam. Cyber criminals/scammers often use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to scare victims by mimicking voice of their loved ones and family members in order to extort money from them.

4. They often force the naive victims to self-arrest or self- quarantine themselves, by tricking them into believing that they have been put under 'digital arrest' and cannot leave their house unless they pay to amount as demanded.

5. In the age of rapid digital evolution, digital arrest scams have emerged as one of the most insidious forms of cybercrime. Scammers frequently exploit vulnerability gaps within the digital spaces, using themes of authority, urgency and fear to trick victims into revealing personal information or transferring money. Different countries have implemented variety of methods to combat this rising threat with varying level of success.

6. The term ‘digital arrest’ refers to a sophisticated and deceptive form of cyber fraud wherein criminals pose themselves as law enforcement officers or government officials to extort money from innocent persons. These scams employ manipulative psychological tactics, often leading victims to believe they have been implicated in serious criminal activities. Under the duress of threats and intimidation, victims are frequently coerced into paying huge amount of money to evade severe consequences such as arrest or incarceration.

It is important to note that ‘digital arrest’ has no legal standing in India. Digital arrest represents a highly sophisticated scam that can snare even well-educated individuals.

7. Digital arrest is the act of instilling fear and panic in individual, before extorting money from them under false pretenses, ultimately making such individuals a victim of cybercrime.

8. Digital arrest scams typically unfold in a systematic manner, with fraudsters reaching out to the victims through various channels such as phone calls, emails or video conferencing. Here is a breakdown of how these scams generally work:

1. Initiating Contact: Scammers accuse victims of their direct involvement in serious criminal offences, like drug trafficking or money laundering, creating an immediate fear in the minds of the victims.

2. Instilling Fear: By threatening victims with arrest in case they fail to comply with their demands, scammers effectively manipulate their emotions, posing a sense of urgency and fear.

3. Creating a Facade of Legitimacy: To lend credibility to their claims, fraudsters go to extreme ends. They use phony uniforms, counterfeit identification cards, and forged documents. In some cases, they operate from simulated government office environments, further persuading victims of their authenticity.

4. Isolation Tactics: Victims are often in