What is ‘digital house arrest’? Delhi Police warns citizens about new MO of cyber scammers
The Delhi Police has termed this new modus operandi of ‘digital house arrest’ perpetrated by cyber criminals as a serious concern, which will allow the scammers to easily extort money from the victims once someone is trapped in their vicious circle.
Delhi News: Delhi Police has urged citizens to remain vigilant about a new scam being perpetrated by cyber criminals known as ‘digital house arrest’, stating that in the recent past, more than 200 such cases have been registered every month in the national capital.
Senior officials have termed this modus operandi of cybercriminals as a serious concern, which makes it easy for the scammers to extort money from the victims once someone is trapped in their vicious circle.
What is ‘Digital house arrest’?
According to Delhi Police, ‘digital house arrest’ refers to a fraud in which impostors posing as law enforcement officers fool victims into believing that their bank account, SIM card, Aadhaar card or other cards linked to their bank account are illegitimate used.
The scammers then virtually stop the victims from leaving the house and force them to pay money, an officer said.
“Digital house arrest has become a major problem nowadays. However, our special unit investigates only those cases where the fraudulent amount exceeds Rs 50 lakh,” said a senior police officer from the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of Delhi Police, according to news agency PTI.
Recent cases
Giving an example of a recent case, the officer said: “A man was getting ready for his office on December 30 last year when he received a call at around 8.43am. The caller took down his name and said he was speaking from the Mumbai crime branch. He told the victim that his Aadhar card was used to transport drugs in courier parcels seized by the crime branch.
The suspect also started interrogating him, causing fear in the victim. They also asked the victim not to leave his house for about 8 hours during the “interrogation,” the officer said.
“The victim told police he heard voices from behind, voices that sounded like wireless police radio transmissions. Later, the suspect asked him to download a Skype application and gain remote access to the desktop. A man appeared before him in police fatigues, interrogated him for hours and asked the victim to show his bank account details to see if he had received ‘foreign money’. In the meantime, they hacked his system and completely emptied his account,” the officer said.
The complainant later filed an FIR and the police are further investigating the matter.
Scammers using fake letterheads
Another police officer said several such cases have been recorded in the National Capital Region recently, with more than 200 cases recorded every month.
These fraudsters use better English translation tools to send threatening letters and forge police department letterheads. They usually buy Aadhar cards from other sources, the officer said.
“They usually target old people. In such situations, the victims should immediately call the police helpline numbers to report the matter and get help,” the officer said.
The officer said such ‘cyber criminals’ are technically sound and know how to convince their targets and drain their hard-earned money.
Cybercrime is on the rise in Delhi
According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report, cybercrime cases in the national capital will almost double by 2022.
The number of such cases has increased from 345 in 2021 to 685 cases in 2022, the NCRB’s comprehensive crime data for 2022 shows.
In 2020, the number was much lower, with only 166 cases of cybercrime, it added.
(With PTI inputs)