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Smitha Kumari (name changed), 68, had spent most of her working life in the Gulf. Now retired in Thiruvalla, Kerala, she lives quietly with her ailing mother-in-law in her nineties and a lone domestic helper. On one recent afternoon, Kumari walked into her bank to close a fixed deposit before its maturity. Unknown to those around her, she was doing so under the crushing belief that she was “under surveillance.” Yet she appeared composed—her face betraying none of the fear that had already taken hold of her mind.

“There was nothing unusual about her demeanor, even though messages kept flashing on her WhatsApp,” recalls Delna Dixon, chief manager of the branch—one of the oldest Bank of Baroda branches in the region, known for handling a large number of elderly customers. Since Kumari had requested a premature closure of a fixed deposit worth over ₹19 lakh, the staff warned her about the loss of interest. “She said it was fine; her children were buying a flat and needed the funds.”

The FD closing process was completed, but when the cheque was examined, the beneficiary turned out to be a private firm, not her children. After repeated persuasion, Kumari showed the messages on her phone. It then emerged that she had received a video call from fraudsters posing as Mumbai Crime Branch officers, who claimed her Aadhaar was linked to criminal activity. They told her the “case” would be closed only if she transferred the money. And that she would remain under “digital arrest” until then.

“We told her immediately it was a scam. She refused to believe it at first, saying a ‘lady officer in uniform’ had spoken to her,” says Dixon. “We explained that such visuals can be faked like movie scenes. That’s when it hit her—she said, ‘My God,’ visibly shaken, realising she had narrowly escaped losing her savings.”

In a suo motu case, the Supreme Court recently vowed to deal with “digital arrests”—scams in which cybercriminals impersonate government officials—with an “iron hand.” The court expressed shock that fraudsters had duped victims across India, particularly senior citizens, of nearly ₹3,000 crore. Earlier, the court had also observed that a “uniform investigation” into such cases was necessary and directed the CBI to devise a nationwide plan to probe them.

Notably, the government—primarily through the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, and other agencies—has a multi-pronged strategy in place to educate citizens about “digital arrest” scams. Since late 2024, a nationwide awareness drive has been underway, spanning media advertisements, public announcements, and even caller-tune messages, warning people about scam tactics. Social media campaigns and outreach events have also been organised, and in his Mann Ki Baat address in October 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself urged citizens to stay vigilant against such frauds. Nevertheless, mega fraud cases continue to happen.

Rukmini Krishnamurthy, India’s first female forensic scientist and chairperson of forensic organisation, Helik Advisory Ltd, says digital arrests are not simply a technical exploit; they’re a psychological manipulation ride.

“The scammer doesn’t hack the computer; they hack the mind,” she notes. Krishnamurthy explains that such frauds rely on a blend of psychological triggers: authority heuristics, where criminals impersonate senior officials to elicit instant obedience; fear and urgency, which suppress rational thought; isolation, as victims are instructed not to speak to anyone; and hyper-realistic visuals—fake IDs, uniforms, even deepfake videos—that lend the illusion of authenticity.

Sandip Gadiya, cybercrime investigator and director of CyberFirst Pvt Ltd, says people fall victim to cybercrimes for just four reasons. “First is greed. Second is fear. Third is the lack of awareness. And fourth is carelessness,” he explains. “These are the only four reasons why anyone becomes a victim of cybercrime.”

Gadiya adds that in almost all “digital arrest” scams, the same patterns recur. “The first type is the courier scam. Victims receive a call claiming a parcel they sent contains drugs or suspicious items. Real shipment data—especially around festive seasons—is often used to make the story sound credible, with mentions of agencies like the NCB adding fear,” he says.

Another pattern involves identity misuse, in which callers claim SIM cards issued in the victim’s name were used in criminal activity. The investigator says fear, authority, and just enough real information to make the lie believable are common threads across such scams.

He adds that while the government has launched several awareness campaigns, there should be more targeted messaging around one crucial fact: “There is no such thing as a ‘digital arrest.’ No law allows it—it’s a purely fraudulent invention,” he says.

To curb such scams, Gadiya calls for stricter enforcement in two key sectors: “Banking, where the RBI must ensure rigorous KYC verification, and telecom, where TRAI and DoT must make service providers verify customer identities thoroughly. If implemented effectively, this alone could cut cyber and financial frauds by 30–40 per cent,” he says, adding that inter-bank coordination is equally vital. “When one bank flags a suspicious transaction, others must be alerted immediately to halt fund transfers before losses occur.”