Govt On Alert As Digital Arrest Scammers Employ New Tactics

Earlier, it was believed that scamsters used India-registered phone numbers for these calls. However, The Secretariat has learnt that the scamsters have shifted tactics in the last couple of months to evade scrutiny.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is taking digital arrest scams very seriously, a senior police official told The Secretariat on condition of anonymity. In a recent secretary-level meeting, DCPs, MHA officials and other police officials convened to strategise a crackdown on these fraudulent schemes, calling it a "national threat," after a case revealed that the fraudsters are now using different tech to dupe people.

The police source suggested that the Indian government may soon make a policy decision regarding digital arrests.

A Global Network Of Cybercriminals

The police uncovered this change in modus operandi after arresting three suspects in a digital arrest fraud case in early February, from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. The arrest followed a complaint about a financial scam involving Rs 94,000.

The digital arrest scam operates through a sophisticated network of cybercriminals based abroad, mostly in Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Canada, and other countries, with crucial support from facilitators in India. The studios that are often seen in the background during these scams, are designed to look like Indian police stations, but are located abroad.

Instead of regular phone or WhatsApp numbers, they now rely on SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) calling for digital arrests. These are internet-based calls that appear to originate from legitimate Indian landline numbers, allowing them to impersonate officials. Businesses, or in this case scam artists, use SIP to cut costs, improve call quality, and enable features like video conferencing, call forwarding, and integration with other digital services.

"The scamsters were able to make over 1 lakh calls within the span of half an hour," the police source said, explaining the massive scale of the operation. "Even if they are able to scam 10-12 people a day, it's extremely profitable for them."

Investigations have revealed that India-based facilitators helped set up and manage SIP call-routing systems using fraudulently acquired telecom services from providers like Jio and Tata Tele.

Scammers then used VOS 3000, an internet-based calling system, to hide their real location and make their calls look like they were coming from Indian landlines. This made it difficult for authorities to trace or block them. The recent arrest has led to the dismantling of over 1,000 SIP numbers (500 Jio and 500 Tata Tele) and terminals.

One of the reasons SIP works is that it can bypass monitoring at ILD (International Long Distance) gateways, which is why it is often exploited in cyber frauds. The police source revealed that the Prime Minister’s Office had specifically told the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to monitor International Long Distance (ILD) calls.

The police source also revealed that they are close to capturing a key Indian handler and one of the masterminds behind the digital arrest scam. However, this isn't a scam run by a single kingpin. It’s a web of multiple groups operating globally. This decentralised structure makes it far more challenging for law enforcement to carry out a complete crackdown.

Government Efforts & Growing Challenges

The Indian government has so far claimed to have "saved" Rs 4,386 crore of citizens’ money in financial frauds, but the incidents of digital arrests themselves have gone up. Online cyber complaints have gone up by 3.42 lakh in the last three months, according to press releases by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

The police have also blocked an additional 1.12 lakh SIM cards, 76,469 IMEIs (a unique 15-digit number that identifies and tracks mobile devices), 2,262 Skype IDs and 24,668 WhatsApp accounts in the first three months of 2025, as part of their crackdown on the digital arrest scam. 

The information was provided by MoS Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on March 25, 2025.