Delhi Police Plans Unified Platform to Tackle Surge in Digital Arrest Frauds
Delhi Police is stepping up efforts to combat the growing wave of digital arrest frauds by developing a comprehensive strategy that includes creating a centralised complaint system and building a detailed database of fraud gangs, officials said on Saturday.
A special four-member committee, led by a senior officer of Special Commissioner rank, has been formed to draft the guidelines and policies needed for this initiative. The committee also includes officers at the Deputy Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, and Additional Commissioner levels.
This move comes as cybercriminals are increasingly impersonating police officers, government officials, or courier agents to trick victims into believing they are involved in legal troubles. Fraudsters often use video calls to fake legal proceedings, pressuring victims to transfer large amounts of money under threats of arrest.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), through the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), Indians lost around Rs 120 crore to these scams between January and April 2024 alone.
Delhi Police is working on an online unified platform that will allow victims to register complaints regardless of their location. “This will help improve response times and coordination,” said a senior police official.
Additionally, the police are collaborating with specialised cybercrime units to compile a database of the gangs behind these scams, including details like their past activities, locations, and methods. “By mapping these criminals and understanding their tactics, we can better prevent such crimes and issue timely alerts,” the official explained.
The police also plan to circulate detailed advisories about common scam tactics to district units, banks, telecom providers, and public platforms to raise awareness and help detect fraud early.
Vineet Kumar, Founder and Global President of CyberPeace, said digital arrest scams are a serious and evolving threat in the cybercrime world. Calling the idea of a centralised platform, a crucial step toward streamlining complaints and tracking criminal patterns.
The urgency of the problem was highlighted recently when a 79-year-old former freelance journalist in Delhi’s Hauz Khas area was scammed out of Rs 2.36 crore. Fraudsters posing as CBI officials threatened her with arrest in a fake money laundering case. Later, she reported the crime to the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of Delhi Police.
Delhi Police aims to stay ahead of these criminals and provide better protection to citizens against these sophisticated digital frauds, With these new measures.
