Latest Weapon Of Cyber Criminals: Tapping Into People's Fears To Swindle Big Money

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Imagine you receive a call from an unknown number and are blamed for being involved in drugs trafficking or a money laundering case…What would be your first move?

Obviously, you will try to save yourself but the moment you do so, you get even more trapped in the situation. That is what the trending cyber-crime ‘digital house arrest’ is all about. So far, 18 cases have been reported in the city in which more than Rs 4.2 crore have been duped from innocent people.

The most unfortunate thing about this crime is that it is very tough to recover money and the accused are mostly untraceable. Of these, 13 cases were reported at the crime branch in which Rs 1.20 crore were duped, 4 cases were reported at State Cyber cell in which Rs 3.06 crore were duped and one case was reported at cyber cell zone-1 in which a RRCAT scholar was duped of Rs 99K.

The victims of digital house arrest not only suffer financially but also mentally. Sharing the devastating experience with Free Press, a victim of digital arrest who is a retired bank manager said that now he doesn’t even take any call from an unknown number and is afraid to even check Whatsapp messages from any unknown number. The other victims too shared similar stories. ‘Fear, greed and ignorance.

These three basic human instincts are the major tool for cyber fraudsters,’ Jitendra Singh, SP (State Cyber Cell), said. 'The accused make video calls from a setup resembling a police station and a man impersonating a police officer in uniform communicates with the target. They trap people by telling them about a suspicious consignment belonging to the victim. People get trapped easily due to their tone and confidence,” he said.

Additional DCP (crime) Rajesh Dandotiya said, “Cybercriminals impersonate officials from agencies to deceive victims. They scare the victim by forcing them to undergo ‘digital arrest’ and warn them not to contact any relatives or acquaintances. The scammers then demand money, falsely claiming the money is for the settlement of the case. Out of fear of legal action, the victim often complies and transfers money.”  

What challenges are the police facing?

1.Lack of awareness - People are not aware of the crime and entertain unknown calls and spoof calls. Also, people pick up video calls from platforms like Skype and others without verification.

2. Delayed Complaints- People complain of such crimes after 4-5 days of the incident. In the meantime, the swindled money is transferred to several accounts making it very difficult to trace.

3. Non-KYC accounts are used for transferring money. Mainly these bank accounts are current accounts registered in the name of fake MSME companies.   

Modus Operandi

- Fraudsters pose themselves as law enforcement officials and coerce victims into staying confined digitally in their house.

- Victims are informed about their parcels being received by customs at airports which have illegal items or transactions from unauthorised sources.

- They set a trap by creating a fake police station with a man who impersonates a police officer.

- Victims are asked to transfer money to settle the case without any legal action or on the pretext that the money will be verified by a Reserve Bank of India software and will be transferred back to them.

How to deal with such a crime

1. Never trust anyone virtually

2. People should be aware that police do not interrogate anyone in virtual mode.

3. Never share any personal details including Aadhar Number with an unknown person

4. Avoid untrusted applications and links

5. Contact the nearest police station or cyber-crime department when one receives such threat calls  

A few cases so far 

Case 1 – The first incident of a digital house was reported in the city on April 11, when a doctor couple was trapped by conmen who posed as custom officials. Later, they were terrified by the caller and were duped of Rs 8 lakh. 

Case 2- A retired government official was duped of Rs 2.5 crore. The fraudster made the person take out all invested money from the share market and also made him break his FD.

Case 3- On August 9, conmen duped a retired bank manager of Rs 39.60 lakh after putting him under digital arrest. The accused threatened him with ED action saying that his bank account was used to launder Rs 8.20 crore.

Outsmarting cyber fraudsters

Case 1: Music Teacher who had a close shave “A woman music teacher received the call but fortunately she contacted police before transferring Rs 2.5 lakh. She was so influenced by the fraudsters that she did not trust us. However, a female police officer made her believe the fraud and saved her,” said SP Singh.

Case 2: In another incident, timely action helped a doctor avoid falling prey to cyber fraud. He received a WhatsApp call where the scammer impersonated a police officer, claiming his son had been arrested in a rape case and demanded money for his release. The doctor sensed something was wrong and directly contacted the cops.