If someone on a video call says you are under “digital arrest”, end the call. No Indian agency — CBI, police, customs, ED, NCB, RBI or a court — arrests anyone over a video call or asks for money to “verify” your accounts or settle a case. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) puts it plainly: “CBI/Police/Custom/ED/Judges DO NOT arrest you on video call.” (I4C advisory, October 2024)
Already sent money? Do this now, in this order:
- Stop. Do not make any further payment, whatever you are told about refunds or “clearing your name”.
- Call the National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930. Reporting quickly gives the bank the best chance to hold the money before it is moved on.
- Call your bank on the number printed on your card or shown in its official app. Ask it to flag the transfers as fraud and note the complaint number.
- File a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in with the transaction reference (UTR) numbers, the phone numbers and IDs that contacted you, and screenshots.
How the scam usually unfolds
Police advisories describe the same pattern again and again (Gujarat Police), (Ministry of Home Affairs alert, May 2024):
- The hook. A call or recorded message says a parcel in your name has been stopped and contains drugs, fake passports or other illegal items — or that your Aadhaar, phone number or bank account has been linked to money laundering. Sometimes the caller claims to be from a courier company or the telecom regulator first.
- The “officer”. You are transferred to someone who says they are from the police, CBI, NCB, customs or ED and moved to a video call on WhatsApp or Skype. They may wear a uniform, sit in front of a set that looks like a police station, and show ID cards, an FIR, an arrest warrant or a court order. All of these are fake.
- The isolation. You are told you are under “digital arrest”: keep the camera on, stay in the room, and tell no one — not your family, not your bank — because the case is “confidential”. This can go on for hours or days. Its only purpose is to stop you checking the story.
- The money. To “prove your innocence”, you are told to move your savings into a “safe”, “verification” or “RBI” account and promised a refund once the investigation ends. That account belongs to the criminals. There is no refund.
There is no such legal procedure as a “digital arrest” in India (Gujarat Police). A real investigation does not require you to stay on camera, keep it secret from your family, or transfer money anywhere.
Five signs it is a scam
| What they say or do | Why it gives them away |
|---|---|
| “You are under digital arrest.” | Indian law has no such procedure. Agencies do not arrest people over video calls. |
| “Do not tell anyone, not even your family.” | Secrecy stops you from checking. A real officer has no reason to cut you off from your family. |
| “Stay on camera until we say.” | This keeps you under pressure and away from your bank and your phone. |
| “Transfer your money to a safe or RBI verification account.” | No agency or the RBI asks citizens to move money to prove innocence. |
| Shows a warrant, FIR or court order on screen. | Documents shown over a video call prove nothing; they are easy to forge. |
If you are on the call right now
- End the call. You are not legally obliged to stay on a video call with anyone.
- Tell someone you trust what happened, even though you were told not to.
- If you want to check, find the number of your local police station yourself and call it. Do not use any number, link or “officer” the caller gave you.
- Do not install any app they ask for, and do not share an OTP, PIN, or your screen.
- Report the number that called you on Sanchar Saathi (Chakshu) and call 1930 to report the attempt.
After you have reported it
- Watch out for “recovery” scams. People who contact you offering to get your money back for a fee — including fake lawyers or fake police — are often the same criminals or others targeting victims. Deal only with the police station handling your complaint and your bank.
- If you installed a screen-sharing or remote-access app, uninstall it, and change your banking and email passwords from a different device.
- Keep everything: call logs, chat screenshots, IDs and numbers used, and every transaction reference. Your complaint and any later bank claim depend on them.
Banks are now under pressure to act too
The Supreme Court is hearing a case on digital arrest frauds. At its 29 October 2026 hearing, it asked WhatsApp and other platforms to set out the measures they will take, asked the RBI for a list of authorised financial institutions, and said rules should require banks to compensate victims where a bank’s lack of due diligence contributed to the fraud. It also urged banks to pause unusual transactions that do not match a customer’s normal pattern. The case is listed again on 23 November (ETV Bharat).
If you lost money, mention in your bank complaint whether the bank questioned or paused an unusually large transfer. We will update this page when the court issues its directions.
Talk to your family about it
This scam works because it is frightening and fast. The single most useful thing you can do is agree with parents and relatives, in advance: “If anyone ever says you are under arrest on a call, hang up and call me first.” Share this page with them.
Sources
- I4C advisory on video-call arrests, reported by ETV Bharat, October 2024
- Gujarat Police Cyber Crime: Digital Arrest awareness
- Ministry of Home Affairs alert on impersonation of police, CBI, NCB and RBI officials, reported by MediaNama, May 2024
- Supreme Court hearing of 29 October 2026, reported by ETV Bharat
- National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and Sanchar Saathi
Written by Kshitij Gupta with AI assistance, from the sources above. Last checked 11 November 2026.
