The fake Digital Arrest, its menace and frauds versus the Notion of the arrest in law- an ordinary man’s perspective
We see that even in the year 2026 itself people of India have lost approximately Rs 3,000 crore to the scam likelihood of involving virtual or digital fake arrest of victim. The Ministry of Home Affairs (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, 14 C) has reported that Indians have lost approximately ₹53,000 crore to cyber-enabled fraud over the past six years (up to early 2026). The fraud is carried out tactically which may be referred a misconstrued and to be called as, “digital arrest”. The victims are generally ordinary people and primarily the vulnerable classes in our society including senior citizens and others less acquainted with the lex loci.
In USA alone, Federal Bureau of Investigation, (Internet Crime Report 2024 page 3) declares that preceding year saw a new record for losses reported to IC3, totaling a staggering $16.6 billion. Fraud represented the bulk of reported losses in 2024, and the ransom ware was again the most pervasive threat to critical infrastructure, with complaints rising 9% from 2023. As a group, those over the age of 60 suffered the most losses and submitted the most complaints. In England, the Organized Crime & Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has reported in March 2025 seize of 7.5 million UK pound by carrying out sweeping crackdown against cyber crime. Innocent people around the world are going through the griming state.
Connotation of digital or virtual arrest: Simply the term digital arrest refers to merely a fraudulent scam tactic and is not at all a legitimate procedure of arrest and indeed a tool of committing cybercrime. The offender, in this case imposters himself as the officials of the agencies of the Governments CBI, Enforcement Directorate, Narcotics Department, RBI, or police or judicial officers etc. International community especially the US may describe to such cybercrimes phishing, ransom ware, business email compromise and identity theft etc.
The modus operandi and the fake arrest: It has been to trace the victims though phones, video calls or through social media and then to severely harass the victim, especially of old age, in all possible way including psychological distress, mental trauma, instant threat of the arrest, detention, investigation and even trial etc of the victim or his near and dear in the court room.
The false serious indictments are made against the victim of offence like his involvement in money laundering, trafficking, transportation narcotics etc. Under the duress the victim is taken to face deep fakes, warrant, forged document of instant arrest and finally offenders say to the victim “you are under the digital arrest”, and so the fake arrest is pretended to be carried out. It results in the illegitimate and unlawful transfer of money, valuable assets or information from the victim to the offenders of cyber crime. And there one may find crystal clear as how these modern days’ extortion and cheating have been executed and thriving, as a white collar crime around us.
As measure of safety, the country men should just recall the event of arrest around them, where the police with their gun was coming to nab the accused, sometime keeping ropes in their hands and thereafter arresting or detaining a person, who in turn followed the commands of police and moved alongwith the police party or the kotwal or jamadar etc. This has been what, exactly the arrest of a person in our legal system for many centuries. Hang on; authorities of the government are bound to follow procedure of laws established.
They will never interrogate you via video call or demand immediate ransom based on deep fakes or fraud and under the pretext of digital or virtual arrest ever. One should be beware that there is no such law of digital or virtual arrest in India. Similarly it is illegal in civilized jurisdictions like of the USA, the UK and France.
In USA there are Key Federal Cybercrime Statutes; Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, and Cyber stalking Act. in UK, Computer Misuse Act 1990 (CMA), Fraud Act 2006, and Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) as well as in France laws like Data Protection and Privacy Act 1978 and eI DAS Regulation (910/2014) have been enacted for handling the menace of deep fakes, fraud and cyber offences etc.
Immediate actions required to be taken in this connection: The victim of felony may have a huge sigh in maxim Audentes fortuna iuvat i.e. luck favors the brave alongwith few actions like (i) information as coercively, sought by offenders shall not be shared;(ii) as soon as possible report the Incident visiting the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal or call the national helpline at 1930; (iii) informing Bank or financial institutions in case of the given financial details or transfer of money, (iv) strive to contact your bank to ensure immediate freezing the said transaction out of your accounts and (iv) Use Official Channels like Chakshu portal to report suspected fraud communications to authorities dealing with serious frauds and deep fakes in India.
The further understanding of mundane contextual laws: It has become vital duty for us, now to peruse further the mundane contextual law and procedure, so to be the enough confident to tackle with such deceptive circumstances of deprives in our daily life. The Constitution of India deals with the rights of the arrested persons especially, under article 22, 20 and via the judicial interpretation under article 21 of it also. Article20 (3) succinctly says that no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself. Having such a valuable right there is no way to admit the faults suggested by the criminals pretending to be authorities. Article 21 guarantees protection of life and personal liberty in following terms_ no person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.
Hence one should know that there is no such procedure of law of detention and arrest in Indian legal system to deprive the physical liberty of a person in India Article 22 guarantees further benign fundamental right to the arrested persons. These are 1) No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice, (2) Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate.
Even in the exceptional cases of the preventive detention the detenu has right to save his liberty in view article 21 of the constitution. So the constitution of India provides safeguards in abundance against the invasion of the liberty of an innocent person. How, when and why of the arrest has been thoroughly dealt in Code of Criminal Procedure or corresponding law. Arrest has been exhaustively dealt under separate chapter in CrPC. Section 43 of Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita,2023, which is the ordinary law of procedure in cases of crimes, requires arrest to be made by words, actions, touching, or confining the body to take person into custody for the purposes of the arrest, unless the person submits willingly.
In case of a woman touching is generally avoided unless necessary or by a female officer. And if someone resists, the officer can use all necessary means to effect the arrest. Thus a person shall be arrested by confining him physically, by applying the force if required, so that he has to follow the command of law. The liberty and freedom of movement of person under arrest is ceased during the period of arrest.
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The procedures curtailing the liberty are thus strong enough not to be misused by the white collar criminals as digital arrest. The officer making arrest shall be bearing visible and clear identity as a police or judicial officers and magistrates. These are the only ways of arrest. The police may arrestwithout warrant usually in non-bailable cases as prescribed under the provisions of the law be it the Indian Penal Code, 1860 or a newer legislation like The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023. The arrest is also affected for the purposes of the execution of the warrant of arrest issued by the court of law or by the individual immediately handing over the offender to the police.
In warrant cases precise documents addressed to the accused is served by the police alongwith the seal of the court. Besides the special and stringent legislations like on narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances or the prevention of money laundering have been construed by court in the light of the dignity and liberty of individual, which may be noticed cases like Manish Sisodia vs Directorate of Enforcement (2024) and Tofan Singh vs State of Tamil Nadu (2020) etc.
The law of evidence also provides safeguards against confession to a police officer like section 23of the Bharatiya Skashya Adhiniym, 2023 may seen. Thus a reasonable man must not be having the apprehension of arrest under law, especially in the hands of a wrongful person or white collar criminals, shall have enough self determination chivalry so as to never succumb to the pressure of the offenders of fraud and deep fakes losing their hard earned savings and belonging. Now thus it should be pristine and crystal clear that there is no law of “Digital Arrest” in India.
Others laws in support of victim: In addition to above India has cyber laws like Information Technology Act, 2000 and The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 for providing adequate safeguard to individual’s right to their personal data, and significant role of them as Data Principal where there is likelihood of assuaging of the grievances of the victims of offences of aforesaid natures.
The I T Act, 2000, under section 66 and 67 has got precise chapter XI for dealing with cyber terrorism, sending of offensive massage, identity theft and cheating by personating using computer etc. Besides the banking regulatory laws may be invoked to restrain activities of cyber crime expeditiously, where the mala fides of the financial institution are prima facie inferred, by taking up the issues before competent authority or court.
Hence the law abiding people of innocence and virtue, are absolutely able persuade the state and its authoritiesto deal with such offences strictly and ensure that the aggrieved and victim of cyber fraud and deep fakes are compensated exemplarily. Supreme Court of India has taken suo motu, cognizance of this gravest issue faced by the society and directed authorities of the government for taking measures in the matter of In re: Victim of Digital Arrest (Dec 2025). And as follow up to which Ministry of Home Affairs Govt. of India has decided in favour of forming committee and stern action also like fixing the responsibility of the gross negligent telecom company and bank also.
Note: This report written by Md. Afzalul Haque (Law Officer in Central Waqf Council).
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