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Impersonation extortion

Digital Arrest Scam

A digital arrest scam uses fake police, customs, courier, court, or government threats to isolate a victim on video call and pressure them into transferring money.

if you got this

Treat it as a scam until you check. Don’t click, pay or share a code. Disconnect the call.

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what it looks like

Forwarded

Your identity is linked to a parcel or criminal case. Stay on video call for digital arrest verification and transfer funds for clearance.

The scam combines fear, authority, isolation, and legal-sounding language. The victim feels watched and unable to ask for help. Callers often quote real personal details from data leaks, switch between multiple "officials" to simulate a real investigation, and keep the victim on camera for hours so there is no quiet moment to think or verify. Elderly people and people living alone are targeted deliberately.

red flags

  • Police, customs, courier, CBI, court, or regulator threat on a call or video call
  • Instruction not to disconnect, tell family, or contact local police
  • Request to transfer funds for verification or clearance
  • Fake ID cards, video-call uniforms, or official-looking documents
  • Threat of immediate arrest unless money is moved
  • A courier company transferring your call to police or customs
  • Pressure to move money into a so-called safe account or RBI verification account
  • Hours-long calls where you are told you are under surveillance

if it’s happening now

  1. Disconnect the call.
  2. Call a trusted person immediately.
  3. Contact local police or official helplines through verified numbers.
  4. Call your bank if money was transferred.
  5. Save screenshots, numbers, documents, and transaction IDs.
Already clicked, paid or shared something?

Don’t

  • Do not stay isolated on video call.
  • Do not transfer money for legal verification.
  • Do not send Aadhaar, PAN, bank statements, or passwords.

Save this evidence

  • Phone numbers and video-call handles
  • Fake notices or ID cards
  • Payment details
  • Call logs and chat screenshots

Stop it happening again

  • Real police do not conduct digital arrest by video call.
  • Create a family rule to call someone trusted before any legal or payment threat.
  • Keep official emergency and cybercrime numbers saved separately.
  • Remember the one-line rule: no Indian agency arrests anyone over a video call, ever.
  • If money moved, call 1930 within the first hour; fast reporting raises the chance of freezing the transfer.

questions people ask

Is digital arrest a real legal process?

No. Treat video-call arrest threats and payment-for-clearance demands as scam signals.

What if they know my Aadhaar or address?

Leaked personal details can be used to sound convincing. Knowledge of your data does not prove the caller is official.

Can police really arrest someone over a video call in India?

No. Arrest is a physical legal process with documented procedure. Indian police, CBI, ED, customs, and courts do not arrest, detain, or verify people over WhatsApp, Skype, or any video call.

What is the 1930 helpline?

It is India’s national cyber fraud helpline run with cybercrime.gov.in. If money left your account, call 1930 as fast as possible so banks can try to freeze the money in transit.

Why did the caller have my Aadhaar number and address?

Personal data circulates through breaches and shady data brokers. Scammers buy it to sound official. Real officials never need you to prove innocence with a money transfer.

Last reviewed 14 July 2026.