A news report in ‘The Hitavada’ City Line published on November 5 helped a 72-year-old woman from Friends Colony escape from the dangerous ‘digital arrest’ scam. The woman, identified as Sushma Bhargava, is a regular reader of ‘The Hitavada’. She had been receiving suspicious messages on her phone for the last two days. The messages claimed that she was involved in a crime and that, she would be digitally arrested.

 

The fraudsters also pretended to be officials. On Wednesday, she read a detailed news on the City Line front page titled ‘Fear + Confusion = Profit: How scamsters earn big from Digital arrest’, which explained how digital arrest scams work, with examples given by the Police Inspector of Cyber Police Station, Nagpur. While reading the news, she realised that the same fraud attempt was happening to her. She immediately contacted the Cyber Police Station and informed officers about the suspicious messages. Due to her quick action, the fraud was stopped. No money was transferred and she saved herself from becoming a victim. Police Inspector Baliram Sutar from the Cyber Police Station said that scammers are targeting citizens by creating fear and confusion.

 

They pretend to be police, customs, CBI or NCB officers. They accuse innocent people of crimes and force them to stay on video calls for hours. Many people panic and transfer money. This method is called digital arrest. Sutar said that ‘The Hitavada’ news helped the senior citizen to stay alert and take the right step at the right time. He has once again appealed to citizens to never trust such calls or messages and to stay alert. “No Government officer will demand money online or arrest anyone through phone calls. If anyone receives such calls, immediately disconnect and call the helpline 1930,” he said. Police have urged people to read genuine information and caution family members, especially senior citizens.