Citizens Lost Over ₹52,976 Crore To Cyber Frauds In 6 Years; MHA Data Reveals
· Free Press Journal
New Delhi, June 19: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India, recently organised a discussion on ‘Safeguarding Human Rights Against Digital Arrest Scams’.
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Chairperson, NHRC, Justice V. Ramasubramanian emphasised the need for a collective response to tackle the menace and noted that Indians have lost about Rs 52,976 crore to cyber-enabled frauds during the past six years, with nearly eight per cent of the losses attributed to digital arrest scams.
The data has been compiled by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) based on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. He observed that in many reported cases, scamsters coerced their victims into transferring money by exploiting the fear of law enforcement agencies among people.
Key stakeholders join discussion
Senior functionaries representing different key departments of the Government of India, including the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Ministry of Telecommunications, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), eminent legal and domain experts, and representatives of telecom operators and banking and fintech associations, participated in the discussion.
Elderly among worst affected
NHRC Secretary General Bharat Lal pointed out that cybercrimes mostly affect elderly persons, including retired government officials, professionals, industrialists and bankers, causing not only financial losses but also compromising their dignity, self-respect and psychological well-being.
Referring to information placed before the Supreme Court in a related matter, he said that more than 3,000 such frauds targeting elderly persons were reported last year.
CBI outlines enforcement measures
Astha Modi, Superintendent of Police, CBI, stated that large-scale digital arrest scams originate from cyber scam compounds in Southeast Asia and are sustained by mule accounts, telecom infrastructure, social media intermediaries and human trafficking.
She outlined the CBI's action against mule account networks, telecom infrastructure, social media intermediaries and human trafficking networks, and referred to an AI-based chatbot for verification of CBI notices and summons.
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Digital Arrest Scammers Now Offer ‘Physical Arrest Or Online Custody’ To Trap Victims In Sophisticated Cyber FraudTRAI seeks OTT regulation
During the meeting, TRAI flagged the urgent need to bring OTT communication platforms such as WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram, used for voice calls, messages and video calls, under an appropriate regulatory mechanism, noting that most digital arrest frauds have shifted to OTT channels.
Officials also suggested measures such as alerts or interruptions during unusually long calls to help prevent digital arrest scams.
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