Picture this: a person receives a call from someone claiming to be an officer of the Central Bureau of Investigation. The caller says their Aadhaar card has been linked to a money laundering case and that a warrant has been issued for their arrest. They are told to stay at home and not speak to anyone — they are, the caller explains, under "digital arrest." Over the next several hours, they are kept on a video call, interrogated, and pressured to transfer money to "secure" their bank accounts from freezing.
This is not a hypothetical. It is a script that has been used successfully against educated, employed professionals in Delhi — engineers, doctors, retired government officers — who are otherwise entirely sensible people. Delhi reported losses of over ₹1,200 crore to cyber fraud in 2025 alone. The scale of the problem is enormous, and the legal infrastructure for redress, while improving, requires navigating with clarity.
The first thing to understand is this: there is no such thing as a "digital arrest" in Indian law. No provision of the BNSS, the IT Act, or any other statute permits law enforcement to confine a person to their home via a phone or video call. It is pure extortion, and the appropriate response — once the immediate crisis has passed — is to file a complaint.
Common Types of Cyber Fraud in Delhi Right Now
Digital arrest scams, as described above, are currently among the most prevalent. Fraudsters impersonate CBI officers, TRAI officials, customs officers, or even Supreme Court judges. They build elaborate stage-sets — fake uniforms, fake courtroom backdrops on video — and rely on the victim's fear of authorities to extract money.
UPI and QR code fraud targets people selling goods online. A "buyer" sends a payment request instead of a payment, and an inattentive seller approves money flowing out of their account. Fake trading and investment apps promise extraordinary returns, accept deposits, show fabricated profits on screen, and then vanish when withdrawal is attempted. Sextortion involves using intimate images — sometimes obtained through fake relationships, sometimes fabricated using morphing technology — to extort money under threat of sharing the images with family or employers. OTP phishing uses social engineering to obtain one-time passwords and gain access to bank accounts.
Immediate Steps After Cyber Fraud
Time is genuinely critical in cyber fraud cases. The first call should be to the National Cyber Crime Helpline at 1930. This is a dedicated helpline staffed around the clock, and in cases involving financial fraud, it can initiate a "transaction freeze" process that may prevent the fraudulent transfer from being further dissipated. This process is time-sensitive — once money has been layered through multiple accounts, recovery becomes exponentially harder.
While on the phone or immediately after, file an online complaint at cybercrime.gov.in — the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal operated by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Document everything before doing so: take screenshots of the conversation, calls, UPI transactions, app screens, email headers. The complaint should be as detailed as possible — amounts, dates, times, phone numbers or screen names used by the fraudster, bank accounts to which transfers were made.
After the online complaint, approach the nearest cyber police station in person. Delhi has dedicated cyber police stations in each district. An FIR should be lodged — and this is where matters sometimes become complicated.
The Criminal Law Angle
Cyber fraud engages several statutory provisions. Section 66C of the Information Technology Act, 2000 covers identity theft — using another person's electronic signature, password, or unique identification feature fraudulently. Section 66D covers cheating by impersonation using a computer resource. Under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Section 318 (cheating) and Section 308(2) (extortion) are typically invoked. For sextortion and cases involving circulation of intimate images, Section 67A of the IT Act and Section 77 BNS are relevant.
Why a Lawyer Often Makes a Difference
In practice, I have seen police stations reluctant to register FIRs in cyber fraud matters — partly because the investigation is technically demanding, partly because the accused are often located outside Delhi or even outside India. An advocate can approach the Superintendent of Police or, if necessary, the court for directions to register the FIR. Once an FIR is registered, investigation machinery can be set in motion: letters rogatory to banks, requests to payment gateways to freeze accounts, and coordination with the cyber cell's technical team.
In cases where a significant amount of money has been transferred, an advocate can move an application for freezing of accounts before the appropriate court while investigation is ongoing. Banking channels are required to respond to such directions promptly, and in several matters I have been involved with, partial recovery has been possible when action was taken quickly.
Prevention Is Still Better
No government agency — not the CBI, not TRAI, not any court — will call you and demand that you stay connected on a video call to avoid arrest. Any such call is fraud. Banks will never ask for your OTP, PIN, or CVV over a phone call. If you receive a suspicious call, disconnect and verify through official channels. The caller ID can be spoofed — a number appearing to be from a government office is meaningless as evidence of authenticity. When in doubt, end the call, take a moment, and call back on a number you independently verify.
Share this information with elderly family members and with people who may be more trusting of official-sounding callers. Awareness is, at present, the most effective defence against the sophistication of these scams.
This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For guidance specific to your matter, please consult a qualified advocate.
Advocate Mandeep Kaur
Bar Council of Delhi · Delhi High Court & District Courts