Digital Arrest: A threat to privacy and legal rights

Introduction

The term “Digital Arrest” finds its mention nowhere in the laws of India. However, since the past few years with the advent of digitization and access to internet and allied facilities such as net – banking and UPI Facilities, a huge number of individuals have fallen victim to online fraud, identity theft and other financial scams, majorly attributed to “Digital Arrest”.

The term “Digital Arrest” refers to a phenomenon wherein criminals operating in the cyber realm attempt to take unauthorised control of an individual’s identity, financial account and material information thereby restricting and confining them to a particular position and taking undue advantage of their financial information and funds. Digital arrest often follows manipulation and siphoning of funds, false authority claims, identity takeovers and swapping of SIM cards or any other information in order to provide an illegitimate authority over the assets, online accounts and other details of the individual and intimidating or compelling them to follow their conditions out of compulsion or pressure.

Fraudsters impersonate law enforcement or regulatory personnel, employing threats and intimidation to pressure victims into sending money or sharing personal details, asserting that they are involved in unlawful activities. This tactic capitalizes on fear and confusion, exploiting the victim’s anxiety to enable financial deception.

Strategies used for Digital Arrest

There are various strategies and tactics adopted by scammers in order to ‘Digitally Arrest’ individuals which are as follows:

1. Fake Websites and Applications – Cyber Criminals often create fake web pages and applications for banking which resemble the legitimate applications leading to confusion among the users and subsequent leakage of crucial banking passwords and details.

2. Malware – By downloading fake and open-source applications on the mobile and computer systems of the users, the hackers are able to gain access to the activities of the users and subsequently extort funds either through bank transfer or crypto – currency

3. Use of Fake Identities – The Cyber Criminals may pressurise the individuals to join video calls or face – to – face online conferences wherein they may use pictures of actual law enforcement officers, judges, or officers of the court to pressurise the individuals into paying ransom.

4. Document Forgery – The Cyber Criminals may forge fake arrest warrants, seizure notices, summons or warrants to apply undue pressure upon the individuals and coerce them into paying ransom. The accusations may involve money laundering, illegal trafficking of drugs, honey trapping or cyber crimes.

Steps to be taken if someone becomes a victim of Digital Arrest

Digital arrest can have severe and frequently severe repercussions. Unauthorized transactions may result in direct financial damages for victims.

There are various processes involved in recovering from these incidents, including:

1. Reporting the Fraud to the Bank – The first action you need to take is to freeze accounts in order to stop additional losses and start the process of reversing unauthorized transactions. Timely action by intimating them can also enable the individual to recover the funds that have been illegally transferred and trace the accounts which are linked to this illegal activity.

2. Filing a Police Complaint – For a formal investigation, it is essential to report the offense to the police. In India, victims can also report instances online at www.cybercrime.gov.in or call the National Cyber Crime helpline (1930). The SacharSathi Portal, which provides case tracking, is another way to lodge a complaint with the Cyber Crime Cell. Reporting such matters timely by filing a First Information Report not only eases the task of investigation but also alertts the law enforcement agencies regarding potential scammers.

3. Securing Devices and Systems – Enhancing your passwords time and again, activating two-factor authentication, and conducting security scans on your devices to verify that no malware is present is one of the best ways to ensure that no scope for digital arrest is left for the scammers to exploit.

4. Check the veracity of the accusations – Under the present Indian procedural law, there is no provision for digital arrest and the law enforcement officers are not empowered to settle or sort the criminal matters merely over video calls. Additionally, every individual has a right to legal representation along with keeping their side of the story in front of a competent court. Therefore, the individuals trapped in such matters must verify the veracity of the accusations by contacting the concerned police stations or seeking legal advice before transferring any amount to the scammers.

Way Forward

The issue of Digital Arrests in India has grown immensely in the past few years leading to numerous vulnerable sections of the society such as the elderly, the retired, and the digitally unaware falling prey to such scams and losing their hard – earned money. In the last two years, the Government of India has launched numerous programs to counter the effects and practice of Digital Arrest which include coming up of Indian Cyber Crime Co – ordination Centre (I4C) which is a nodal agency for collaboration between various departments of the government, financial institutions, telecom operators and payment aggregators to combat the threat and practice of cyber frauds.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has also set up a CERT – IN which has shared the best practices and guidelines in order to prevent cyber frauds and cyber-crime like verifying identities of the callers, blocking suspicious caller IDs and refraining from using illegally downloaded or pirated applications which may provide a window for the scammers to digitally arrest individuals or siphon away the funds.

It is the need of the hour to work upon creating awareness both within the individuals as well as the payment aggregators, telecom providers and other stakeholders of the financial setup to enforce strict standards of data security, payment systems and law enforcement in order to prevent such instances of cyber arrests and scams. Lastly, the law enforcement agencies and cyber departments should play an active role in investigation of alleged crimes by taking strict actions against the culprits and ensuring that such alleged activities are not carried on by scammers.

King Stubb & Kasiva,
Advocates & Attorneys

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