An 86-year-old retired bank manager from Pune was recently duped of nearly Rs 1.3 crore in a ‘digital arrest’ scam after fraudsters posed as Mumbai police officers and accused him of being involved in a money-laundering case. The scammers contacted him over the phone and through video calls, appearing in police uniforms and presenting what they claimed was an arrest warrant. They told him he was under ‘digital surveillance’ and warned of immediate arrest if he did not cooperate.
Over the course of several weeks from December 2025 to January 2026, the elderly man was pressured into transferring large sums to multiple bank accounts to ‘verify’ his funds and clear his name. The fraud continued until a family member noticed the unusual behaviour and intervened, leading to the discovery of the scam. A police complaint was later filed, and a cybercrime investigation is underway.
Other recent incidents include an 84-year-old industrialist from Irinjalakuda in Thrissur losing Rs 5.4 crore in a digital arrest scam, and an elderly couple in Kannur losing Rs 1.5 crore.
The industrialist was targeted between September 2025 and January 2026, with fraudsters claiming that the Mumbai unit of the Directorate of Enforcement had evidence linking him to a money-laundering case and that he faced imminent arrest. The scam came to light when he approached the police on February 14.
In the Kannur case, callers told the elderly couple that their Aadhaar card had been found at the residence of a terror suspect and falsely alleged they had received funds from terrorists. They were pressured to transfer their savings on the pretext that the Reserve Bank of India would verify the money and prove their innocence.
In these frauds, callers impersonating police officers, CBI officials, or telecom authorities accuse targets of being linked to criminal activity and place them under a fake ‘digital arrest’ over video calls – isolating, intimidating, and coercing them into transferring money.
The question then is inevitable: if awareness is so widespread, why do these scams remain so rampant? The answer lies in a mix of fear psychology, technological manipulation, data leaks, and gaps in enforcement that scammers continue to exploit.
A case of psychological manipulation
Talking to indianexpress.com, Deepender Singh, cyber expert, Betul Police (Madhya Pradesh), said, “From my perspective, the digital arrest scam is not just a cybercrime issue; it is a case of psychological manipulation. Awareness campaigns are being conducted, and people are listening, but when such a situation is created around them personally, fear overpowers rational thinking.”
“Scammers deliberately use a formula of authority, urgency, and secrecy. When someone is told their name has surfaced in an illegal transaction, that an arrest warrant has been issued, or that they are under investigation, the first instinct is to protect their reputation.
Under that pressure, many follow instructions without verification,” he added.
Giving further clarifications, Singh said, “Another major factor is that people treat awareness as general information and assume they are smart enough not to fall for such scams. However, the script used by fraudsters is often so convincing that the situation begins to feel real.”
Threat triggers fight or flight response
Talking to indianexpress.com, Nirali Bhatia, cyber and counselling psychologist, said, “Let’s understand what happens in such a moment. In a so-called digital arrest situation, the brain perceives a threat. When that happens, it triggers the fight-or-flight response. There is fear of legal consequences, social humiliation, and loss of control. All of this builds a sense of immediate danger. Instead of thinking logically, we begin to act on learned impulses and conditioned behaviour.”
She added, “This happens because the amygdala – the part of the brain that processes fear – activates before the rational brain can properly evaluate facts. When survival instincts switch on, logical reasoning tends to switch off.”
Bhatia further explained, “Video calls and audio-visual stimuli play a crucial role in digital arrest scams. Fraudsters often create a strong sense of visual authority – someone appears in uniform, an official-looking backdrop is there, legal language is used, and documents resembling arrest warrants or notices are shown. All of this reinforces a perception of legitimacy.
“Our brains tend to equate what we see with authenticity. So, when someone claims to be from the CBI or the ED and speaks in an intimidating tone, the interaction begins to feel real and threatening. At that point, authority bias also kicks in – people are more likely to comply with instructions from someone they perceive as a powerful official.”
Education does not make people immune to manipulation
When asked why even the educated individuals fall prey to such scams, Bhatia explained, “Digital arrest is an emotional or psychological manipulation; education does not really make us immune to this kind of manipulation, so in fact the professionals often fear reputational damage, more than anything else.”
“So, what scammers exploit here is ‘identity’ that you have in a case linked to Aadhaar or your bank account is under investigation, so it feels more like a personal attack and a personal humiliation,” she said. The higher the status, whether education or finance-wise, the greater is the perceived damage, perceived humiliation, or perceived fall, Bhatia opined.
Bhatia explained that urgency and isolation are powerful psychological tools. Urgency compresses time; it does not allow pausing or thinking clearly. “When someone says, ‘Act now or you will be arrested,’ it creates immediate pressure. Isolation then cuts off perspective.
When victims are told not to inform anyone, they lose the chance to seek validation, advice, or reassurance,” she said.
Without time or social feedback, the brain is pushed into a fear-driven state. In such situations, compliance becomes the default response, because under perceived threat, the mind prioritises immediate relief over careful reasoning, she elaborated.
Interrogation style adds pressure, authority
When asked whether the situation is similar to coercion or hostage-style control, Bhatia replied, “The fraudsters or scammers actually use the interrogation style and techniques, which is adding pressure, authority, controlled communication, and induced fear, which eventually will lead to compliance.”
Why do victims stay on call for hours instead of disconnecting?
“The victim is in state of absolute fear and why do they stay because leaving at that point feels riskier rather than staying because scammers are always reiterating that if you leave right now or if you don’t comply, it would be considered as non-cooperation, which would lead to legal consequences. So that kind of fear is what holds them there, and they find it very difficult to leave. Victims feel that if they leave, then the entire damage or the consequence may worsen,” Bhatia said.
She added, “Also, cognitive load increases because of urgency and biases that are kicking in, exhaustion also happens, and entire decision-making is hampered by the brain fatigue, which is growing because of added pressure. Hence, they feel that compliance is the only way out, and feel this would be over, their resistance starts declining.”
Name and reputational damage fear is the biggest tool that scammers use to manipulate, she noted.
Bhatia explained that for elderly individuals, there is an added fear of being judged as gullible or incapable. In the case of women, the fear may involve character assassination, shame, and social stigma.
Awareness not enough
Bhatia said awareness is not enough because awareness only tells you about the type of scam and some technical measures. “What we need are emotional drills that are not just information-related. People need to also enact and rehearse these responses, such as ‘I will disconnect and verify,’ and other such responses,” she added.
Bhatia stressed that when fear sets in, people must be trained to recognise it as a red flag – a signal that they do not need to act immediately and must instead buy time. Such drills should deliberately simulate fear and then teach individuals how to manage and overcome it.
Simply sharing information – such as “no agency will call you like this” – is not enough, especially because these scams rely heavily on visual stimuli. Awareness must be combined with role-play and psychological training that teaches people how to pause, control reflexes, and resist emotional manipulation. True preparedness means building the ability to stop, think, and bounce back calmly under pressure, she concluded.
Singh said he feels that the solution is not just more awareness, but response training. People must be mentally clear that no law enforcement agency conducts arrests over a video call, no genuine investigation demands immediate money transfers, and in a panic situation, the first step should always be to disconnect and verify through official channels. Digital safety will only improve when people learn to pause and think, even in moments of fear.
Experts say psychological manipulation, not lack of awareness, fuels the rise of digital scams. (Express Photo) 
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