‘Feels like I was under hypnosis’: How digital arrest scams dupe Indians of their hard-earned money

On Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned listeners of his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio about digital arrest frauds by conmen posing as law enforcement officials. Modi’s word of caution came as Indians lost Rs 120 crore in such scams between January and April, according to government data. The prime minister assured listeners that law enforcement officials would never contact them by phone as part of their investigations.

Digital arrest frauds begin with scamsters claiming to be law enforcement officials phoning targets to say that they have been accused in a criminal case. The conmen tell the targets that they have been put under digital arrest. They are forced to stay on a video call for several hours and asked not to contact anyone else as they are interrogated by scamsters posing as officials. The victims are told that the investigative process requires them to transfer money to the conmen.

The scams are extremely sophisticated: men in police uniforms, staged court hearings, forged government notices are among the range of techniques used to convince targets that they are in trouble. The scamsters are taking advantage of the fear most Indians have of getting involved with the law – even if they know they are innocent, cyber fraud...

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