Human traffickers, according to a report by India Today, are luring Indian citizens to Cambodia, offering them job opportunities, and then coercing them into committing thousands of dollars worth of online financial fraud and cyber crimes. A growing number of digital arrest frauds are being experienced in India, and the Home Ministry's Cyber Wing is identifying Singapore as one of the hotbeds of these scams, along with Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand, as other geographic locations where these scams can take place.
The IPDRs (Internet Protocol Detail Records) of the digital arrest fraudsters, which India Today discovered through an investigation of their IPDRs, have revealed that their location is Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam. Upon collecting the money from such scams, the money is then withdrawn from ATMs in Dubai and Vietnam, where it is then spent.
A cybercriminal sitting in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam orders Indian SIM cards for their agents, who are located within those countries.
It has been revealed that approximately 45,000 SIM cards have been sent to Cambodia and Myanmar as a result of the investigation. There was a few days delay before Indian agencies managed to deactivate the SIM cards.
According to government data, approximately Rs 120.3 crore was lost by Indians to 'digital arrest fraud schemes' during the first quarter of 2024.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted this fraud during his monthly radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’ on Sunday (October 27), along with other scams that he claims to be dealing with.
In the period from January 1 to April 30, this year, the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal registered 0.74 million complaints. This is an increase from 1.5 million complaints recorded in 2023 when there were 1.5 million complaints logged.
A report by the Indian Express reported that 0.96 million complaints were filed in 2022, a significant increase over the 0.45 million filed in 2021, a statistic that indicates a trend of continued growth. An article published in May by the Chief Executive of the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Center (I4C), Rajesh Kumar, detailed the losses caused by cybercrime during this period. Mr. Kumar was able to provide a lot of information. The speaker stated that Indian citizens have lost Rs 120.3 crore to digital arrest scams, Rs 1,420.48 crore to trading scams, Rs 222.58 crore to investment scams, and Rs 13.23 crore to romance scams over last four years.
The scam usually starts with fraudsters notifying potential victims that their package contains items that have been alleged to be illegal. It is also possible that the victims may be contacted via video call by individuals impersonating law enforcement officials who will demand payments to resolve the matter. As soon as the victim answers the phone, they will have to stay connected visually in what fraudsters call a 'digital arrest' until they comply with all the demands that are made on them.
According to the I4C's analysis of data for the period from January to April 2024, nearly 46 percent of cyber frauds reported in India are likely to originate from Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, which is an estimated Rs 1,776 crore together for all types of frauds reported.
A company founded by Akshat Khetan, the founder of AU Corporate Advisory & Legal Services, recently spoke about digital arrest frauds via the following quote: "These scams use fear tactics to intimidate individuals into compliance.
Typically, they will pose as representatives from law enforcement or other government agencies to intimidate citizens into complying with their demands.
The first step to protecting yourself against these deceptive practices is to make sure you have a thorough understanding of your basic legal rights: in the first place, no legitimate authority must demand immediate payments or personal information if your safety is threatened. A right to verify the identity of any official and to request properly documented information is a basic human right, not merely a formality.
As soon as the victims answer an unsolicited call, they hear that the caller has sent or will send packages that contain illegal goods, drugs, fake passports, or a combination of them.
As an alternative, scammers may have called victims' friends and family and told them that the victim was involved in a crime that needs to be investigated.
As soon as they monitored their victim's voicemail, they would go on to target them through a video call wearing uniforms, and pretending to be police officers, before demanding money to close their case.
Indian authorities have uncovered extensive cybercriminal operations based in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam, where scammers are exploiting Indian SIM cards for large-scale digital fraud. With over ₹2,140 crore siphoned off in the past ten months, scammers primarily operate from call centers in Chinese-owned casinos in Cambodia, deploying tactics like “digital arrest fraud” to manipulate victims.
In response, Indian agencies are enhancing international collaboration and public awareness efforts to counter these sophisticated cross-border scams and safeguard citizens against evolving cyber threats.
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