The Home Ministry has advised the people to be aware from the fraudsters posing as officials of Police, Central Bureau of Investigation, Narcotics Department, Reserve Bank of India, Enforcement Directorate and other Law Enforcement Agencies. According to the Ministry, a large number of complaints are being reported on National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal regarding intimidation, blackmail, extortion and digital arrests by cyber criminals posing as government officials.

In certain instances, unsuspecting victims are made to undergo digital arrest and remain visually available over Skype or other video conferencing platform to the fraudsters, till their demands are met. The fraudsters typically use studios modeled on police stations and government offices and wear uniforms to appear genuine.

The Ministry said, several victims have lost large amounts of money to such criminals. It said, this is an organized online economic crime and is learnt to be operated by cross-border crime syndicates. The Ministry has advised that the citizens should immediately report the incident on cybercrime helpline number 1930 or www.cybercrime.gov.in for assistance.