SC flags rise in digital arrests

In India, incidents of fraudulent digital arrests have surged in recent years where cybercriminals posing as police officers, government officials or bank representatives extort money from unsuspecting individuals. The scamsters often fabricate arrest warrants or even judicial orders by forging the signature of judges to trap their victims, especially senior citizens. Such cases highlight the growing sophistication of cybercrime in India and the urgent need for stronger digital literacy, public awareness and swift law enforcement to curb these incidents.

- PRESS TRUST OF INDIA

Rising incidents of online frauds in the country, especially digital arrests to dupe citizens by fabricating judicial orders, have come under the scanner of the Supreme Court which Friday sought responses of the Centre and the CBI saying such offences strike at the "very foundation" of public trust in the system.

The top court took cognisance of a glaring case of digital arrest of a senior citizen couple in Haryana’s Ambala on the basis of forged orders of the court and probe agencies by fraudsters to extort ₹1.05 crore.