Thousands of WhatsApp, Skype IDs Used in Digital Arrest Scam Blocked

Cyber fraud is on the rise in India and other regions, with over 11 lakh cases reported in the country in 2024. Digital arrest scams, which involve scammers posing as police or other law enforcement agencies, are also growing rapidly. Fraudsters typically target vulnerable users, which include elderly users. The government recently revealed some of its ongoing efforts to detect and prevent instances of digital arrest scams in India, while keeping users informed about similar forms of cyber fraud.

Government Blocked Thousands of WhatsApp and Skype IDs to Combat Scams

In a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State in the Ministry of Home Affairs Shri Bandi Sanjay Kumar stated that the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) proactively identified and blocked over 83,668 WhatsApp accounts that were used for fraudulent activities, which included digital arrest scams. Similarly, the I4C disabled over 3,962 Skype IDs that were used for these scams.

The minister also highlighted other steps taken by the government to generate awareness about digital fraud and scams, including an unskippable caller tune message played on outgoing calls in regional languages, newspaper advertisements, collaborations with social media influencers, and other campaigns.

By the end of last month, over 7.81 lakh SIM cards and over 2.08 lakh IMEI numbers were blocked by the government after they were reported by police authorities, according to Kumar. The government also worked with telecom service providers to set up a mechanism that would detect and block international calls from scammers using spoofed Indian phone numbers.

The I4C has saved over Rs. 4,386 crore as part of efforts to prevent funds from being siphoned off by scammers. The Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System was set up under the I4C in 2021, and has received over 13.36 complaints to date, according to Kumar.