New Delhi: In his 115 Mann ki Awesome address yesterday, PM Narendra Modi discussed about the rising cases of Digital arrest and fraud and urged citizens to be cautious against such fake arrest calls. He gave tips on how the citizens can defend themselves against cons who pretend to be police officers on social media accounts.
In the programme, PM Modi played a video of a man in police uniform accosting an unrelated man and demanding his Aadhaar information. This example showed how smoothly scammers act in order to get some personal data under the veil of legality.
How to overcome PM Modi on Rising Digital Arrest Fraud?
PM Modi stated that this digital arrest fraud is common across genders and ages and the victims of the scam call lose their hard earned money easily. “If you ever receive such a call, do not be afraid,” Modi said, further adding that no genuine investigative agency would question the person or demand some or the other sensitive information over the phone or through the video call.
The Prime Minister introduced a three-step protocol to handle suspicious calls:
Don’t – Do not get mad, respond to the message or email, or give your social security number. If that is feasible, it’s worth taking a snapshot of the screen or even recording the call for future reference.
Be Aware – Sometimes it is good to remind yourself that no legal authority will intimidate anyone through a call, demand for cash or conduct a probe over the phone. In fear-related case, there could only be fraudulent system behind the call process.
Act – Call the national cyber helpline number at 1930 and report the crime on the official portal made for the same. And tell family members and the local policemen too.
When con artists resort to a digital arrest fraud, reporting the incident is as follows:
PM Modi said that thousands of scam video ID, SIM card, and bank account associated with such frauds have been frozen now as the government is working for it. However, he said that citizens’ awareness is necessary to deal with these scams. He urged his audience to come forward and tell people about their incidence in the hope to warn and act as an alert to others by using #SafeDigitalIndia.