 "Govt working to prevent international spoof calls deceiving Indian citizens")
The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) are working together to prevent the influx of spoof calls originating from overseas. These calls falsely claim to be from law enforcement agencies like the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), among others, alleging ‘digital arrests’.
Alternatively, I4C is partnering with Microsoft to combat the misuse of logos belonging to enforcement agencies. These logos are frequently exploited by scammers abroad to extract money from Indian citizens, according to a report in the Economic Times.
Rajesh Kumar, chief executive of I4C, said numerous instances have surfaced wherein callers, posing as police or law enforcement officials, ask for digital arrests to extort money.
The report quoted Kumar as saying, “The victim is contacted via a normal call from an Indian number. Call spoofing is used to call the victims and calls posing to be personnel from the CBI, RBI, NIA or banks. Thousands of skype IDs have been created impersonating Indian agencies. I4C has proactively reported 1,500 Skype IDs to Microsoft.”
The avenues for extorting money during ‘digital arrests’ have been identified as including international fund transfers, physical gold transactions, cryptocurrency exchanges, and ATM withdrawals.
Kumar said citizens should report suspicious phone numbers, WhatsApp identities, or URLs on the cybercrime website, categorising them as ‘suspect data’. Additionally, citizens can cross-reference phone numbers on the website with those listed in the ‘suspect repository data’.
MHA issues advisory on digital arrest
Last week, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued an advisory on digital arrests, detailing the modus operandi where fraudsters use setups resembling police stations and government offices, complete with uniforms, to project authenticity, the report stated.
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The advisory said that fraudsters contact a prospective target and inform them that they have dispatched or are slated to receive a package containing illicit substances, narcotics, counterfeit passports, or other prohibited items. Sometimes, they also say that a close acquaintance or a family member of the victim has been implicated in a criminal activity or accident, and is currently under their custody.
They further request for payment to influence the outcome of the ‘case’. In some scenarios, individuals are made to undergo ‘digital arrest’ and are required to stay accessible via Skype or similar video conferencing platforms until the demands of fraudsters are met. This constitutes an organised form of online economic crime, reportedly operated by cross-border criminal syndicates, the report said.
The home ministry said the I4C is also aiding in the blocking of SIM cards, mobile devices, and mule accounts used by these fraudsters.