It is not as menacing as any massacre or brutal killing, nor does it cause slow-poison death but when it comes to a spine-chilling effect on one’s mindset it is inarguably as deadly as life-threatening diseases like cancer. And that in a nutshell describes the silent killer that has been taking a heavy toll on humanity without any firing or physical assault. Indeed, today the very mention of ‘digital arrest’ sends shockwaves given the rising number of such cyber scams where in fraudsters posing as police officers, cybercrime officials, or government authorities con gullible persons and make a killing.

The perpetrators use intimidation, threaten legal action, and flash fake documents to make the victims believe that they are involved in serious crimes like money laundering, and then demand a “fine” or “security deposit” to avoid arrest. Coupled together they are abetment to suicide. Many people, unable to bear the trauma and mental anguish, are resorting to the extreme step. The psychological manipulation is of such an order that the scammers warn the victim against talking to anyone or “digitally confine” them to a video call to prevent them from getting help.

The menace has reached such overwhelming proportions that even the country’s President has reacted. Droupadi Murmu expressed deep concern that ‘digital arrest’ has become one of the most dreaded threats to citizens. Dwelling deeper into the issue, Murmu said, “Just about 10 years ago, the expression ‘digital arrest’ would have been impossible to understand. Today, it is one of the most dreaded threats to citizens.” Digital arrest is a scam aimed at extorting money from victims using fear, deceit and intimidation, which are quite worrisome, she said. And rightly so too. “This is going to impact policing also. You must be several steps ahead in adopting new technologies, including AI, compared to those who use these technologies with wrongful intent,” she said.

Taking a step further towards addressing this sordid crime, the Supreme Court issued notices to all states and Union Territories in a suo moto case concerning the rising menace of “digital arrest” scams. A bench of the apex court directed all state governments to submit details of FIRs registered in connection with such scams. The bench added that “digital arrest” scams appeared to be pan-India, or even cross-border. “There are more than one instances that have taken place in different parts. We are inclined to entrust the matter to the CBI in respect of all the States because this is a kind of crime which may be operating from across the border,” the court said.

According to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, the CBI is already investigating several similar cases, with technical assistance from the Cyber Crime Division of the Union Home Ministry, while Attorney General R Venkataramani pointed out that money-laundering networks behind such scams were often based outside India. Today, the point that needs to be considered is not who says what but thrashing out a policy that can effectively check this menace, if not eradicate it, once and for all, though a tad tough.

More than concentrating on FIRs that hardly yield the desired results, all states and UTs must sit together and work out strategies as was done in the case of handling the naxal menace whereby the affected states were brought on one platform, and they undertook joint operations. This fierce offensive has seemingly upset the calculations of the outlawed outfit. Cybercrimes can possibly be contained with such a coordinated effort.