Online Privacy"Digital arrest" scam: the fake police video call
No police force, court or agency in India arrests anyone over a video call or asks for money to "verify" your accounts. A caller who does is a criminal.
How it usually goes
- The hook. An automated call or a caller says a parcel in your name was stopped with drugs or fake passports, or that your Aadhaar, SIM or bank account was used in money laundering. Some start as a call "from TRAI" saying your number will be disconnected in two hours.
- The transfer. You are "connected" to a police station or agency. A person in uniform appears on a video call, with an office and a logo behind them, and reads out your name and identity number to sound official.
- The isolation. You are told you are under "digital arrest": stay on camera, tell no one, do not leave the room. This can go on for hours or days.
- The payment. To "prove your money is clean" you are told to move your savings to a "safe" or "government" account for checking, with a promise that it will be returned.
The signs
- There is no such thing as a digital arrest. An arrest is made in person, by officers who show identity and follow procedure. No agency conducts one over WhatsApp or Skype.
- No agency asks you to transfer money to any account for verification. Government departments do not hold "safe accounts".
- Secrecy. Real officers do not forbid you to speak to your family or a lawyer.
- Pressure and fear. Threats of immediate arrest, a ticking deadline, an order to stay on the line.
- The call comes on a messaging app, often from a number with a foreign country code or an unknown mobile number, with a police logo as the profile picture.
- They already know your name and number. That only means your details leaked somewhere, as most people's have.
What to do when the call comes
- Hang up. You will not get into trouble for cutting a call. If there were a real case, it would reach you in writing at your address.
- Do not stay on video, and do not share screens, documents or OTPs.
- Tell someone at once: a family member, a friend, your bank manager. The scam depends on your being alone.
- Check for yourself. If you are worried, call or visit your local police station, using a number you look up yourself.
- Report the number on Chakshu, the reporting service of the government's Sanchar Saathi portal. See Sanchar Saathi.
Can the police question me on a video call?
The police may contact people by phone, but they do not hold anyone "under arrest" on camera or demand money. Ask for a written notice and say you will come to the police station with a family member or lawyer.
They sent me an arrest warrant on WhatsApp with seals and signatures. Is it real?
No. Forged letters with logos and seals are part of the script. Courts and police do not serve warrants as pictures on messaging apps.
If money has already gone
- Dial 1930 at once. It is the national helpline for victims of financial cyber fraud. Give the transaction details; the earlier the report, the better the chance that the money can be held before it is moved on.
- Call your bank or card company on its official number and block the card, UPI or account. Report the transaction as unauthorised and note the complaint number.
- File the complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, cybercrime.gov.in, and keep the acknowledgement number.
- Keep everything: screenshots, numbers, UPI IDs, account numbers, transaction references, links, the app's name. Do not delete chats.
The full checklist, with what to keep ready, is on what to do after a fraud. Helpline and portal checked on 12 November 2026.
Independent guide. This is not a government, bank or police website. Helplines and rules were checked at official sources on 12 November 2026; confirm on the official site before relying on them.