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Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in his 115th Episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on 27th October awakened the people against the ‘digital arrest’ scam that defrauded victims of their hard-earned money, and asked them to report such cases to the cyber helpline. Stating that probe agencies were working together with State governments to deal with the issue, he urged schools and colleges to involve students in the campaign to spread awareness about the menace.
During the address Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi said fraudsters made phone/video calls to prospective victims, posing as officials from various law enforcement agencies, and at times from the Reserve Bank of India.
He said, “The fraudsters of Digital Arrest phone calls, at times, impersonate as Police, CBI, Narcotics; at times RBI… using such various labels, they converse as fake officers with a lot of confidence. Many listeners of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ have wished that we must discuss that. Let me tell you, how these fraud gangs work. What is this dangerous game? It is very important for you to understand this and it is equally important for others to understand it as well.
“The First Move… They collect all of your personal information… “You went to Goa last month, didn’t you? Your daughter studies in Delhi, right”? They collect so much information about you that you will be surprised. The Second Move – Create an atmosphere of fear… Uniform, government office set-up , legal sections… they will scare you so much on the phone… In the midst of the conversation you will not be able to even 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 of 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. Whenever you receive such a call, don’t be scared. You should be aware that no investigative agency never inquires like this through a phone call or a video call. I am enumerating the three steps to Digital Security. These three steps are – ‘Stop – Think – Take Action. As soon as you get a call, stop… – don’t panic, stay calm, don’t take any hasty steps, don’t give away your personal information to anyone; if possible take a screenshot and record it for sure.”
“After this comes the second step. The first step was ‘stop’ and the second step is ‘think’. No government agency threatens you on the phone like this, neither inquires nor demands money on a video call like this. If you feel scared, then know that something is wrong. The first step, the second step and now I spell out the third step. In the first step I said – ‘Stop’… in the second step I said – ‘Think’, and the third step tells you – ‘Take action’.
Dial the national cyber helpline 1930, Report on cybercrime.gov.in, inform family and police, preserve evidence. ‘Stop’, then ‘Think’, and then take ‘Action’, these three steps will become the protector of your digital security.
Friends, I’ll reiterate that there is no system like digital arrest in the law, this is just a fraud, deceit, it is a lie, a gang of criminals and those who are doing this are enemies of society. To deal with the fraud that is going on in the name of digital arrest, all the investigative agencies are working together with the state governments.
For synchronization among these agencies, a National Cyber Co-ordination Centre has been set up. Thousands of such fraudulent video calling IDs have been blocked by the agencies. Lakhs of SIM cards, mobile phones and bank accounts have also been blocked. Agencies are doing their job, but for protection from scams in the name of digital arrest, it is very important that everyone is aware, every citizen is aware. Those who are victims of this kind of cyber fraud should let as many people as possible know about it. You can use #SafeDigitalIndia for awareness.
I would also like to urge schools and colleges to involve students in the campaign against cyber scams. We can fight this challenge only with the collective efforts in society.”
In a post on X Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah said, “In today’s episode of MannKiBaat, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi awakened the society to the menace of defrauding people by threatening them with ‘Digital Arrest’.
Shri Amit Shah said, “The modus operandi of these fraudsters is to pose as police, CBI, anti-narcotics or RBI officers and threaten unsuspecting citizens over a video call. Modi Ji laid out the measures to be taken by citizens to prevent such frauds, reminding them that no govt agency conducts investigations via phone or video calls.
To nip this evil in the bud, Modi Ji invoked the mantra of ‘Ruko, Socho Aur Action Lo’ and appealed to report authorities immediately through the helpline number 1930 or on https://cybercrime.gov.in. The Modi govt is committed to building a cybersecure Bharat.”