Mumbai woman loses ₹20.25 cr: How to protect yourself from digital arrest scams
Recently, an 86-year-old Mumbai woman lost ₹20.25 crore in a digital arrest scam linked to an Aadhaar misuse threat.
A recent report of an 86-year-old Mumbai woman losing ₹20.25 crore in a digital arrest scam linked to an Aadhaar misuse threat highlights how people must stay aware and be prepared to deal with such situations.
What is a digital arrest scam?
A digital arrest scam is when fraudsters posing as law enforcement officials intimidate the victims into believing that they are under serious criminal investigation.
They then claim that the case can be dismissed if the victim shares sensitive bank details and transfers a large sum of money immediately.
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What happened in the Mumbai woman's digital arrest case?
An 86-year-old woman from Mumbai was duped of ₹20.25 crore between December 26 of last year and March 3 this year by fraudsters posing as police officers who claimed that her Aadhaar card was being misused for illegal activities including money laundering, forcing her to transfer money to several bank accounts for settling the case.
Once the victim realised that the whole thing was a scam, she reported it to the police, who immediately launched an investigation which is ongoing as of now. The police have also reportedly tracked the transfers and have detained the scammers.
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How to protect yourself from digital arrest scams?
The first step to protecting oneself from digital arrest scams is to become aware of the various ways by which the scammers can get in touch with the victims.
These include phone calls where they pretend to be police officers, judges, or lawyers, falsely crafted law enforcement emails with logos and legal-sounding language, phishing links embedded in mails or messages, and threats through social media, according to the Cybersecurity Center of Excellence (CCoE).
The red flags which one can look for include phishing links, QR codes, unverified apps, or messages sent via unsecured networks. The emails and messages may also include alarming language and exaggerated claims.
Examples of words meant to stimulate urgency are -- “Urgent Notice” or “Final Warning.”
Apart from this, it is important to know that official emails usually have domains like @gov.in or similar.
Other red flags are grammatical errors and typos.
However, if one still gets caught in such a situation, it is important to remain calm and contact authorities to report the incident as soon as possible. This can be done through your local cybercrime department or the government’s online grievance portal.
It is also advised to never pay money or share sensitive personal information such as bank account information or passwords.
Yet another safety measure is to strengthen your digital defenses by using strong, unique passwords, enabling two-factor authentication on all accounts, and using good cybersecurity software such as antiviruses which can detect and block malware or phishing threats.
