'Digital arrest' — threats from fake police

On a video call someone posing as the police, CBI, Customs, TRAI or the ED told you to stay on camera, tell no one, and transfer money 'for verification'.

Call 1930 now File a complaint at cybercrime.gov.in

Do this now

Step 1.
Within 1 minutes
Hang up. There is no such thing as a 'digital arrest' in India — no agency can detain anyone over a video call. The whole thing is fake.
Step 2.
Within 5 minutes
Call 1930 right now. It is the national cyber-crime helpline and runs 24 hours. The sooner the complaint is on record, the better the chance the bank can freeze the money — the first hour matters most.
Call 1930
Step 3.
Within 15 minutes
Call your bank on its official number — the one printed on the card or passbook — report the transaction as disputed and get the account or card frozen. Note the complaint number. Under the RBI circular, if the breach was a third party's and the deficiency lay neither with the bank nor with you, reporting within three working days of the bank's intimation leaves your liability at zero. But if you passed on the OTP, PIN or password yourself, you bear the entire loss until you report it — and the bank bears any loss after that. Which is why every hour of delay adds to the amount.
Step 4.
Within 20 minutes
Tell one person at home right now. This fraud works only as long as the victim stays isolated and frightened.
Step 5.
Within the first hour
File the written complaint at cybercrime.gov.in and save the acknowledgement number. The phone complaint lands on the same portal, but only you can add the written account and the documents.
File at cybercrime.gov.in
Step 6.
Within 24 hours
Go to the nearest police station or cyber cell, give a written complaint and take the acknowledgement. A cyber-crime FIR can be registered at any police station — you cannot be turned away on the ground that it is not their jurisdiction.

Do not do this

Do not transfer anything 'until the investigation is over'. A real agency never asks for money into a private account.
Do not show your Aadhaar, PAN, bank details or address on camera, and do not share your screen.
Do not keep it from your family because they told you to — 'tell no one' is their main tool.
Do not delete the chat, call log, email or messages — not even out of anger. That is your evidence, and it does not come back.

Preserve this evidence

Screenshot every screen with the date and time visible — the chat, the payment screen, the email, the profile.
Any call recording you have, plus a screenshot of the call log showing the number and duration.
The 'notice', 'warrant' or ID card they sent, as a file — even if it is obviously fake.
The UTR or reference number of every transaction, the amount, the time, and the full details of the account or UPI ID the money went to.
The sender's phone number, UPI ID, email address, WhatsApp profile, and the link to any social-media account they contacted you from.
Leave the original messages, mails and files exactly where they are — the original counts as evidence alongside the screenshot. Delete nothing.

Similar cases

Digital arrest
Digital arrest: extortion through a fake video-call 'arrest'
This is a composite illustration drawn from thousands of similar complaints, not the record of one real case; the amount only shows the typical order of magnitude of such a loss, while the method, the warning signs and the sections cited below are real. There is no such thing as a 'digital arrest' in Indian law, and no agency arrests anyone over a video call. The callers pose as police, CBI, ED or Customs officers, keep the person on camera for hours, and have money transferred 'for verification'. The only correct response to such a call is to hang up.
Amount lost
₹12 lakh
Partially recovered

National helplines

State cyber cells

Start over

This is educational information, not legal advice. For anything serious, speak to an advocate.