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What is a digital arrest scam? Police do not arrest on video calls

A “digital arrest” is a scam, not a legal process. Callers pretend to be police, CBI, ED, customs or narcotics officers, say a parcel or bank account in your name is linked to a crime, keep you on a video call and demand money to settle the “case”. No Indian agency arrests or questions anyone on a video call or asks for money to clear their name, so hang up, tell someone you trust, and report it on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.
A black smartphone lying face down beside a laptop and a pen on a dark desk
Photo: picjumbo_com on Pixabay

If someone says you are under digital arrest

Tap each one as you check it.

How a digital arrest call works

The Ministry of Home Affairs describes the pattern: a caller says you sent, or are about to receive, a parcel holding drugs, fake passports or other contraband, or that a relative has been caught in a crime or an accident. Then comes a demand for money to “compromise the case”.

In a digital arrest, you are told to stay on a Skype or other video call until you pay. The MHA says these gangs use sets made to look like police stations and government offices, and wear uniforms to seem real. It calls this organised crime run by cross-border syndicates.

Example. Names and numbers are made up.

Why a digital arrest is always a scam

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) put it plainly in October 2024: the CBI, police, customs, ED and judges do not arrest you on a video call. In Mann Ki Baat the same month, the Prime Minister said there is no provision for a digital arrest in law and asked people to stop, think and then act.

No agency asks you to move money to “verify” it, to stay on camera, or to keep the call secret from your family. Those demands are how the scam keeps you isolated long enough to pay.

A phone number that starts with +91 proves nothing. The government says scammers in recent digital arrest cases called from abroad using spoofed Indian numbers.

How big the problem is

In March 2025 the Minister of State for Home Affairs told the Rajya Sabha that 1,23,672 incidents of digital arrest and related cybercrime were reported on the national portal in 2024, with ₹1,935 crore taken. In 2022 the figures were 39,925 incidents and ₹91 crore.

By December 2024, I4C had blocked more than 1,700 Skype IDs and 59,000 WhatsApp accounts used for digital arrests. In November 2025 the Supreme Court, hearing a case on these scams, called it shocking that more than ₹3,000 crore had been collected from victims, including senior citizens.

Signs of a fake officer

Signs it is a scam

  • Says you are under arrest over WhatsApp, Skype or a video call
  • Tells you to keep the camera on and not leave the room
  • Shows an ID card, uniform or warrant on screen
  • Asks you to transfer money for “verification” or bail
  • Tells you not to tell family, a lawyer or your bank

How real police work

  • Does not arrest or question anyone on a video call
  • Does not investigate cases over phone or video calls
  • Does not ask you to move money to clear your name
  • Can be checked by visiting your local police station

What to do if you get the call

  1. End the call. You are not under arrest, and leaving the call is not a crime.
  2. Do not pay anything and do not share OTPs, bank details or Aadhaar details.
  3. Tell a family member or friend straight away. Isolation is what the scam depends on.
  4. If you are still worried, visit or call your local police station yourself, using a number you looked up.
  5. Report it on the 1930 cybercrime helpline or at cybercrime.gov.in, and report the calling number on Sanchar Saathi.

Many of these calls start with a courier or parcel story. See Courier scam calls about a parcel with drugs.

If it already happened

  1. If you have sent money, call your bank now on the number on your card or in its app, and ask it to stop or hold the transfers. Every hour matters.
  2. Write down every phone number, bank account, UPI ID and Skype or WhatsApp ID they used, and keep screenshots of messages and any “warrant” or ID card they showed.
  3. Report and block the WhatsApp or Skype account from inside the app, and report the calling numbers on Chakshu at sancharsaathi.gov.in.
  4. Tell your family what happened, and be wary of anyone who later calls offering to recover the money for a fee.
  • Call 1930The national cyber fraud helpline. Call within hours if money left your account.
  • cybercrime.gov.inFile a complaint online and keep the acknowledgement number.
  • Chakshu on Sanchar SaathiReport a fraud call, SMS or WhatsApp number.

Questions

Digital arrest kya hai?
It is a fraud in which callers posing as police, CBI, ED or other officers keep you on a video call, say you are under arrest and demand money. There is no such thing as a digital arrest in Indian law.
Can police or the CBI arrest you on a video call?
No. I4C has said the CBI, police, customs, ED and judges do not arrest anyone on a video call. Anyone who claims to be doing so is a scammer.
The caller showed an ID card and an arrest warrant. Are they real?
No. The Home Ministry says these gangs wear uniforms and use studios made to look like police stations and government offices. Documents shown on a call or sent on WhatsApp are part of the act.
The call came from a +91 number. Does that mean it was from India?
Not necessarily. The government has said scammers in digital arrest cases used international calls spoofed to show Indian mobile numbers, and has told telecom operators to block them.

Realr cannot tell you who is really on a call from “the police”, but before you pay or meet someone you only know online, you can ask them to prove who they are with a Realr check.

Ask them to verify

Sources

Checked against the sources above on 17 October 2026. By Manav Sharma, Marketing Team, Realr. This is general guidance, not legal advice.

Ask them to prove who they are, before you pay or meet.

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