PM Modi on ‘Digital Arrest’: Addressing the Atmosphere of Fear and Concerns

PM Modi on ‘Digital Arrest’: PM warns against ‘digital arrest’ fraud, says no government agency calls and demands money.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday cautioned the nation against the ‘digital arrest’ fraud, saying no government agency calls and demands money.

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"...Under digital arrest fraud, callers portray themselves as police, CBI, RBI or narcotics officials, and they confidently talk. People asked me to talk about this in Mann Ki Baat. You need to understand this. The first step is your personal information. They collect all your personal information. 2nd Step is the atmosphere of fear. They will scare you so much that you won’t even be able to think. Step 3- The time pressure…Victims of digital arrest are from all sections and ages. Many people have lost lakhs of their hard-earned money. If you ever get a call like this, don’t be afraid. You should know that no investigating agency does such an interrogation over the phone or video call," PM Modi said in the radio show.

He asked the masses to record such attempts.

"There are 3 steps of digital security- stop, think, and take action. If possible, take a screenshot and do the recording. No government agencies give such threats over the phone nor do they demand money," he added, reported ANI.

In the 115th episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’, PM Modi explained how the fraudsters operate in the ‘digital arrest’ scam.

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He asked people to call 1930 to connect with the national cyber helpline. He said such cases should also be reported to the police.

The so called digital arrests have been on the rise in India. Last month Vardhman Group chairman SP Oswal was duped into transferring ₹7 crore to the fraudsters’ bank account after he was taken into “digital custody”.

They posed as CBI officials. They kept him under “digital surveillance for two days via Skype” as a “suspect in a money-laundering case”.

They “impersonated Chief Justice of India Justice D Y Chandrachud”, “held a fake Supreme Court hearing via Skype” and cited the money-laundering case against Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal.

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