NEW DELHI: In a report to the government, the cyber wing of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) I4C has said that scammers have already stolen around Rs 2,140 crore from victims of cyber arrests in India within the first 10 months of the current year, officials said on Friday.
Noting that on average over Rs 214 crore lost every month, the officials said, in its report, the I4C has found that the scammers impersonated as officials from top Indian agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Police, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to dupe people into transferring money to their overseas accounts.
It also mentioned that several call centres operating from countries like Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand are found to be linked to “digital arrest scams” and were the primary bases for these operations.
These scam call centres are often located in Chinese-owned casinos in Cambodia, where cyber slavery is also a matter of concern, the report said, adding that though the core of the operation lies abroad, around 30-40 per cent of these fraudulent activities are also traced back to India, where local centres are actively involved.
According to the report, the officials said, since January (2024), over 92,334 incidents of digital arrest have taken place in India and victims are often deceived into believing that they are going to face severe consequences unless they immediately transfer funds.
Since the report was submitted to the government, the MHA and the CERT-IN, a cyber security agency under the aegis of the Ministry of Information & Technology has issued a series of advisories for people asking them if they suspect, they have fallen prey to these scams, to report incidents directly to the I4C through the emergency helpline, 1930. These advisories also emphasise that prompt reporting would lead to maximum chances of recovering stolen funds and preventing further losses.
The news of cyber arrest assumed further importance and was highlighted, particularly after Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked about the issue during his 115th episode of "Mann Ki Baat" on October 27.