Beware of new cyber scam ‘digital arrest’: SP Subba Rayudu

Tirupati: Cheating people asking for KYC and OTP became passe with the fraudster resorting to ‘digital arrest’ to fleece money from innocent people.

Tirupati district SP L Subba Rayudu in a press release on Thursday explained that fraudsters will call gullible people and say that police found drugs in a parcel that was sent to him/her, and they are coming to arrest. Not giving time for the person to recover from the shock and to think about it, the fraudsters will continue questioning him over phone.

After a short while, another person of the same gang will call the same person, posing as an official from security agency probing narcotic smuggling. This second caller will inform that they are also investigating drug case (parcel) and will soon come to the house, adding more fear and confusion to the person.

After few minutes, another person will call and seek more details about him. After asking a few questions, this third caller will tell the victim that he will help him/her to escape from getting arrested, provided if he/she pays a hefty amount. This third fraudster will ask the victim to send the amount online to a particular bank account.

SP Subba Rayudu asked people to be more alert about such calls in the name of police or security agencies and urged to contact police immediately, if they get calls from strangers informing them of their arrest in a drug case.

The SP asked people to contact police on 1930 and 112 and also district police WhatsApp number, if they receive any call informing their arrest. He further advised people to avoid answering video calls from unknown persons and not to give personal details like bank account etc.