NEW DELHI: The cyber wing of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), I4C, has reported that scammers have stolen approximately ₹2,140 crore from victims of “cyber arrest” scams in India within the first 10 months of the current year, officials announced on Friday.
With an average monthly loss of over ₹214 crore, the report highlights that scammers impersonated officials from prominent Indian agencies, such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Police, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to deceive victims into transferring money to overseas accounts.
The report also reveals that several call centers linked to these “digital arrest scams” are based in countries such as Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. These operations are often run from Chinese-owned casinos in Cambodia, where cyber slavery is an additional concern. Although the primary operations are located abroad, approximately 30-40% of these fraudulent activities have been traced back to India, where local centers play an active role.
Since January 2024, more than 92,334 incidents of digital arrest scams have occurred in India. Victims are frequently misled into believing they will face serious consequences unless they transfer funds immediately.
Following the report’s submission to the government, the MHA and CERT-IN, a cybersecurity agency under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, have issued a series of advisories. These advisories encourage individuals who suspect they may have fallen victim to such scams to report incidents directly to I4C via the emergency helpline, 1930. The advisories stress that prompt reporting offers the best chance of recovering stolen funds and preventing further losses.
This issue gained further attention after Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the topic during his 115th episode of “Mann Ki Baat” on October 27.
