The avenue of digital frauds and the countless victims that they have left behind is a testament to the rising threat of technology-oriented frauds on a population of over 1.4 billion that is still not entirely tech-savvy.
The Digital Arrest Scam
Talking about the same, Zerodha's Nithin Kamath shared his thoughts on the matter in an X post. Here, Kamath had his emphasis on a particular type of scam, 'The Digital Arrest Scam'.
Here, A digital arrest is a duplicitous method used by cybercriminals to falsely accuse individuals of breaking the law. To add to that, scammer also threaten victims with a digital arrest warrant.
In his post, he claimed that Indians have lost a staggering concerning Rs 2,000 crore to digital arrest frauds this year.
According to Kamath these scams work by creating fear in people. They take advantage of people's tendency to make mistakes when they are afraid.
Kamath then gave a rundown of how the scam works.
In these frauds, the victim gets a call from a person claiming to be a police officer. Then the scammers pressure the victim by making claims like a courier parcel in the victim's name has been seized because it contains illegal items like drugs or other contraband.
Then the victim gets a WhatsApp video call with a scamster wearing a police uniform. They threaten to arrest you, take you to court, and then ask you to transfer money to their account to "close the case."
On a cautionary note, he also added, "I've shared this earlier as well: Never react in a hurry when you get such calls. At the very least, speak to someone knowledgeable, to your lawyer, or just walk into the nearest police station." | Representative Image
Banking On Fear
Kamath said, "Those of us who are educated may think that no one will fall for such obvious scams, but crores of educated Indians have fallen victim to these frauds."
On a cautionary note, he also added, "I've shared this earlier as well: Never react in a hurry when you get such calls. At the very least, speak to someone knowledgeable, to your lawyer, or just walk into the nearest police station."
The fraud works because we instinctively become afraid and will do whatever it takes to avoid trouble. Don't react in a hurry. Also, block or don't receive calls and messages from unknown numbers.
