‘Put phone on flight mode’: How Class 7 student’s quick thinking saved parents from nine-hour ‘digital arrest’

The next day, after the family realised the nature of deception, they filed a police complaint at Prem Nagar Police Station, following which an FIR was registered against unidentified persons. No arrests have been made so far, police said.

Superintendent of Police, Bareilly, Manush Pareek said, “An attempt at ‘digital arrest’ has been foiled and that the family did not suffer any financial loss. A minor inconsistency initially noticed by the boy raised suspicion.”

Police have been conducting regular awareness programmes in schools to educate people about such scams, he added.

Speaking about what led to his suspicion, Tanmay said, “The callers claimed to be from the National Investigation Agency, but several details did not add up.”

“The signage visible behind them had ‘NIA’ written on it, but the letter ‘N’ was in lowercase, which made it evident that the caller was not at their office. The man speaking to my parents, who said he was an officer, had a long beard. Also the way they were speaking did not sound professional or convincing. These three things made me suspicious,” he said.

“I repeatedly told my father that they appeared to be fraudsters, but my parents were not ready to believe me. So, late at night, when everyone was asleep, I put the phone on flight mode and cut off the conversation,” he added.

Tanmay said he was aware of such scams through reports on social media and in newspapers, which helped him recognise the warning signs.

Tanmay, a resident of the Prem Nagar locality in Bareilly, is the son of Sanjay Kumar, a shopkeeper who sells food items, and his wife Roshi Saxena, a private school teacher.

Recalling the incident, Sanjay said that on April 6, he had closed his shop early as a cooking gas cylinder was unavailable and went home when he received a call from an unknown number. The caller identified himself as an officer from the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS).

“He told us that my wife’s mobile number had been linked to terrorists and that she was also involved in a fraud worth Rs 300 crore. We were shocked and said we had no idea how her number could be connected to any such activity, nor was she involved in any fraud,” Sanjay said.

He added that the callers began issuing threats, after which another person, claiming to be from the NIA, initiated a video call and stepped up the intimidation.

“He asked for our bank details. My son, who was sitting next to us, kept telling me that they were fraudsters, but I was not ready to believe him,” he said.

“They effectively placed us under digital arrest, instructing us not to step outside and to remain constantly on the video call so they could monitor our movements. They also gathered details about our house and bank accounts and as a result we remained confined for nearly nine hours,” Sanjay said.

He added that late at night, his son put the phone on flight mode, cutting off all communication.

“The next day, we realised we had been duped and went to the police station to file a complaint,” he said.