NEW DELHI: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has issued an alert cautioning people against incidents of ‘intimidation’, ‘blackmail’, ‘extortion’ and ‘digital arrest’ by cyber criminals impersonating law enforcement agencies like ED, CBI, NCB, RBI and the police forces of the state and Union Territories.
“A large number of complaints are being reported on National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) regarding ‘intimidation’, ‘blackmail’, ‘extortion’ and ‘Digital Arrests’ by cyber criminals posing as police authorities, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Narcotics Department, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Enforcement Directorate and other Law Enforcement Agencies,” the MHA said in an official statement.
“Citizens are advised to be alert and spread awareness about these types of frauds. On receipt of such calls, the citizens should immediately report the incident on cybercrime helpline number 1930 or www.cybercrime.gov.in for assistance,” the statement said.
The MHA said that the fraudsters typically call a potential victim and inform that the victim has sent or is the intended recipient of a parcel, which contains illegal goods, drugs, fake passports or any other contraband item.
“Sometimes, they also inform that a near or dear one of the victim has been found to be involved in a crime or an accident and is in their custody. A demand for money is made to compromise the case," the MHA said, adding that in certain instances, “unsuspecting victims are made to undergo ‘Digital Arrest’ and remain visually available over Skype or other video conferencing platform to the fraudsters, till their demands are met."
The fraudsters are known to use studios modelled on police stations or government offices and wear uniforms to appear genuine, the MHA informed.
The MHA in its statement also confirmed that across the country, several victims have lost large amounts of money to such criminals and this organised online economic crime syndicate is learnt to be operated by cross-border criminal gangs.
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the MHA, coordinates activities related to combating cybercrime in the country. MHA is closely working with other Ministries and their agencies, RBI and other organisations to counter the frauds. I4C is also providing inputs and technical support to police forces of states/UTs for identifying and investigating the cases.
“I4C has also blocked more than 1,000 Skype IDs found to be involved in such activities, in collaboration with Microsoft. It is also facilitating blocking of SIM cards, Mobile devices and Mule accounts used by such fraudsters. I4C has also issued various alerts through infographics and videos on its social media platform ‘Cyberdost’ e.g. X, Facebook, Instagram and others,” the MHA said.