On September 30, Malati Verma, a resident of Agra, received 10 WhatsApp calls on her mobile in 8 minutes. Every time Malti received threats that her daughter was involved in a sex racket. Instantly on Google Pay Rs. Send 1 lakh. A cyber thug wearing the uniform of a police inspector kept Malti in digital arrest for 4 hours. Malati Verma was so frightened by this incident that she died of a heart attack.
Another major incident of digital arrest happened with the country's well-known businessman SP Oswal, CMD of Vardhaman Group.
The cyber thug told SP Oswal over the phone that there is a Supreme Court arrest warrant in his name. An order has also been received to seal his property. In this regard, the fraudster also sent him some fake documents. Cyber thugs kept SP Oswal under digital arrest for two days and duped him of Rs 7 crore. In recent times, the incidence of digital arrests has increased rapidly in the country. The main reason for this is lack of awareness among people.
So today In work news We will talk about what is this digital arrest? You will also learn that-
- How can you recognize digital arrest?
- What are the ways to avoid digital arrest?
Expert:
Vaibhav Srivastava, AIG State Cyber Crime, Police Headquarters, Bhopal
Rahul Mishra, Cyber Security Advisor (Uttar Pradesh Police)
Question- Digital Arrest what is
Answer- Digital arrest is a form of blackmailing over WhatsApp calls, in which cyber thugs, wearing police uniforms or impersonating government department officials, torture people emotionally and mentally. Cybercriminals trick people into believing that something bad has happened or is about to happen to them or a member of their family. Most of the people get scared because the person sitting in front is in police uniform. After this they keep falling into their trap.
Question- How can we identify digital arrest? Answer- AIG Cybercrime Vaibhav Srivastava says that identifying digital arrests requires being careful and vigilant. If you receive a call from an unknown number, keep these points in mind given in the graphic below.
Question- What to do to avoid digital arrest? Answer- According to cyber expert Rahul Mishra, the biggest weapon of cyber thugs in digital arrest is WhatsApp. They prey on people only through WhatsApp video calls. So, first of all change your WhatsApp settings a bit, so that if a call comes from an unknown number, you only get notifications. After this, take care of these things.
- Do not pick up any suspicious calls on WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram.
- Don't panic if you picked up the phone. Just don't share your personal and financial information.
- In case of initial doubt, disconnect the phone immediately. Avoid long conversations on the phone.
- Be sure to verify calls from unknown numbers immediately with an app like TrueCaller.
Q- How can I silence unknown calls on WhatsApp? Answer: In the past few years, the cases of scams through unknown calls on WhatsApp have been increasing rapidly. WhatsApp has added a new feature to prevent this. The name of this feature is – Unknown Call Silent. As soon as you turn it on, unknown and spam calls will be muted automatically. However, you will be able to know from which number the call has come through the notification.
Follow these steps to turn on WhatsApp's unknown call silent feature.
- Step 1: First open your WhatsApp app.
- Step 2: After this open the settings of the app.
- Step 3: Go to 'Privacy' option and click on it.
- Step 4: After this click on 'Calls' option.
- Step 5: Here you will find the option of 'Silence unknown callers'. Select it and turn it on.
With this, you will get the first notification of incoming unknown calls on WhatsApp.
Q- What to do if you get a call from a cyber thug? Answer- According to AIG Cybercrime Vaibhav Srivastava, phone call fraud is the new tactic of cyber thugs. Most people either ignore such fraud calls or block the number. While doing so alone does not solve the problem. If you receive such a call, immediately contact the nearest police station.
Q- Can I complain about fake calls online? Answer: Department of Telecom has launched Chakshu Portal to stop fake calls and messages on WhatsApp. On this portal, you can report suspicious messages, calls or spam calls on WhatsApp. Follow these steps to file a complaint.
- First of all go to the official website of Sanchar Portal.
- After this click on the option of 'Citizen Centric Services'.
- Click on 'Report Suspected Fraud Communication'.
- After this go to the option of 'Continue For Reporting'.
- Now the form page will open. Fill in the fake call or message details.
- The form will contain a fraud list. Click on the option related to your complaint.
- Also upload the screenshot of the fake call or message in it.
- Finally write your mobile number and name.
- Submit it after captcha code and OTP verification.
Recently the Government of India has banned around 1.7 crore SIM cards. All these SIM cards were issued through fake Aadhaar cards and other documents. Apart from this you can complain about it on cybercrime helpline number 1930.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
