Caught in the web: How a doctor lost Rs 4.5 crore in the rising digital arrest scam
Expecting a routine call about a patient, Dr. Mehra responded, “Yes, it is. Who is this?”
“This is Sub-Inspector Shinde from the Mumbai Crime Branch. We have a warrant for your arrest,” the voice declared.
Shocked and confused, Dr. Mehra asked, “What warrant? I don’t understand.”
“The drug MDMA has been found in a courier addressed to you. You need to verify your account details immediately or face arrest,” Shinde said, sounding too official to question.
Panicked, Mehra hesitated, but in her confusion, she agreed to provide her details, according to the report. The scam unfolded as Shinde demanded a transfer of funds to an account for “verification purposes.” Trusting the voice on the other end, she did as told — handing over Rs 4.5 crore. It was only later that she realised she’d fallen victim to a digital arrest scam, where scammers masqueraded as law enforcement officers to extort money.TOI further reported that Mehra’s story is far from isolated. Digital arrest scams are on the rise, with the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) recording an alarming increase in cases.
In 2022, the portal documented 39,925 cases, with victims losing a total of Rs 91 crore.
But by 2024, the number of cases had nearly tripled, reaching 1,23,672, with the defrauded amount soaring to a staggering Rs 1,935.5 crore.
Just in the first two months of 2025, 17,718 cases have been reported, amounting to Rs 210.2 crore.
These scams follow a disturbingly consistent pattern. Scammers, posing as law enforcement officials, contact victims through phone calls or video chats, claiming that the individual or their family members are implicated in serious crimes like drug trafficking or money laundering.
The victims are coerced into transferring money to “verify” their innocence, with the fraudsters using intimidating tactics to isolate and extort them, said TOI.
The sheer scale of this issue prompted Prime Minister Modi to address the nation during his Mann Ki Baat address in October 2023, warning the public about the dangers of digital arrest scams.
In the speech, Modi played a recording of a scam call to highlight the seriousness of the problem, urging citizens to stay vigilant and emphasising that no legitimate government agency conducts investigations over the phone or through video calls.
Delhi Police have stepped up efforts to tackle this growing crime, claiming to follow up on every reported case. “
As soon as we receive a complaint, our priority is to freeze and block the siphoned money. Thereafter, we trace the account owners and the callers. The scammers try to erase their digital footprints, but we have been able to identify them in a majority of cases,” a senior cyber cell officer told TOI.
