Digital arrest scam: How cybercriminals play mind games with their targets

`We write the script and the machine does the rest.’ This statement is not about a filmmaking process, but it is a modus operandi that cyber criminals use to create fear psychosis among their victims and dupe them.

This startling revelation was made by a young cybercrime accused to his lawyer during one of the meetings.

The revelation startled cyber law expert Advocate Pankaj Bafna, whose client was involved in a digital arrest scam. The accused explained how they play mind games with their targets.

“They pick up deep and authoritative voices from online platforms, preferably from interviews of policemen,” said Bafna, explaining that the accused then sync their own script with the voice using an editing tool.

“With the help of Artificial Intelligence and advanced technology, they attempt to make the sync perfect, though there is still a bit of a margin left,” Bafna said.

Bafna added that the victims are unable to figure out the marginal difference in the sync because they get terrified by the threats of arrest and can’t think straight. They give in to the demands of the cyber criminals.

In most cases, the call lasts 45 seconds to a minute, during which the fear psychosis makes the victims feel like they are hypnotized, and they transfer the money to save themselves from the ‘arrest’.

The cyber criminals chose their targets whom they can easily scare and extort money from. ‘They chose senior citizens, women, and those staying alone, as they are vulnerable,’ Bafna said.

Choosing targets becomes easy for the criminals as lots of personal information is available online, on Facebook and Instagram. “We don’t think about the repercussions of putting our personal information on social media,” Bafna said.

The strong voice works on unsuspecting, vulnerable targets in audio as well as video forms. In the video calls, the criminals set up a fake police station or a law enforcement agency office on the screen to scare their targets.

Bafna said most of the cyber criminals involved in such scams are in the age group of 22 to 30 years.

PSYCHOLOGIST SPEAK

Tanisha Agrawal, Forensic Psychologist

An authoritative voice creates anxiety in the victim. People, especially those from India, often experience fear when interacting with individuals in positions of power.

This is the result of a high power distance index - a cultural dimension that measures the power dynamics between the "authorities" and citizens.

Since our childhood, our parents would threaten us that if we did not finish our food, `police uncle leke chale jaayenge' (police uncle will take you). These might sound harmless, but they actually create a fear of these authorities."

The scammers' use of authoritative voice and the crisis they present is the perfect recipe for a crime. The cultural conditioning of a victim to obey authorities makes them forget about rational judgment and leads them to follow instructions without verifying.

Another factor that comes into play is that scammers create either urgency or fear among their victims. They use the voices of those who are our dear ones, and this impersonation triggers fear and stress. Calling the loved ones of the victims puts them in a spot where they are most vulnerable. When we hear the voices of our loved ones in distress, it bypasses our rational brain. The emotional bond and our protective instincts are exploited.

The third thing that is generally seen is the signal of danger in response to an authoritative voice. An authoritative voice can initiate the defence mechanisms in a person as they feel threatened.

VICTIM’s STORY

A chief manager of a prominent bank, where Advocate Pankaj Bafna had gone to get a fixed deposit done, gave OTP to someone on the call. He lost Rs 75,000.

His wife called after five minutes, asking if he had made any transactions. The email alert of his bank transactions goes to his wife,’ said Bafna, recalling the incident. The chief manager denied that he had given any OTP.

Bafna told him that he had heard him giving the OTP to someone on the phone. He again denied.

Bafna asked him to check the phone. On checking, he found the OTP. He did not remember giving the OTP.

A CLOSE SHAVE

The father of a junior lawyer in a law firm got a call that his daughter had been arrested and Rs one lakh was demanded for her release.

He was about to transfer the money; however, to his luck, his wife was at home.

Why doesn’t he contact the firm to confirm the veracity of the call? She alerted him. He called and found that his daughter was in the office.

SOME OF THE TRICKS

• Your Aadhaar card details were found in a drug parcel. You are under digital arrest.

• Your name has figured in a money laundering investigation. You can’t leave your home till the investigation is complete.

• A cheque-bouncing case has been filed against you in Delhi. We are coming to Mumbai to arrest you.