How a cybercriminal who attempted to defraud a Kerala police officer was exposed

Due to the increase in these frauds, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned the public about them in his October monthly "Mann Ki Baat" speech.

Cyber News Nov 17, 2024 0 9 Add to Reading List

How a cybercriminal who attempted to defraud a Kerala police officer was exposed

Inspector Feesto TD of the cyber cell in Thrissur received an unexpected call two weeks ago. The caller, posing as "a policeman" from Maharashtra's cyber unit, allegedly stated that Feesto was under "digital arrest" due to his connections to individuals engaged in narcotics and human trafficking.

The caller was tricked for forty-five minutes before he realized he was talking to a police officer.

Inspector Feesto claims that when he received an automated call on his official number, he was in uniform and on job. He was instructed to push 9 in the message, which connected him to the "policeman."

I reasoned that they would end the call if I revealed who I was. I did as instructed, and the call was moved.

Speaking English well, "the policeman" on the other end informed him that his Aadhaar data had been discovered on the dark web and linked to individuals involved in human trafficking, drug trafficking, and weapon trafficking.

He supposedly immediately thought it was a digital scam, but he chose to cooperate because he was accustomed to such scams in his field of work.

He shared all of my information with him. I pretended not to know about the dark web and pled innocence," he stated.

The caller apparently informed him that his call was being routed to the cyber-crime headquarters, as is customary in these situations.

Following this, I was placed under "digital arrest" and instructed to stay at the current location. Their whole strategy was intimidating. They told me not to talk to anyone. He asserted that they were keeping tabs on all of his activities, including my phone conversations.

Feesto was soon invited to participate in a video conference. He initially claimed to be uninformed before pretending to download the video call program that was already installed on his phone. He then spoke with his "policeman" caller on the phone.

I started by filming his footage as soon as he appeared. He realized I was a police officer and ended the contact right away when I eventually turned on my camera and showed up, he added.

Police in Thrissur are presently searching for the caller, but Feesto thinks it would be difficult.

It would have been simpler to find these fraudsters if there had been a financial transaction. We don't quite know where the call originated in this instance," he stated.

This occurs at a time when reports of "digital arrest" scams in India are on the rise. In order to extort and threaten gullible victims, these schemes usually include cybercriminals posing as law enforcement officers or government organizations like the state police, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate, and the Narcotics Bureau.