New Delhi: Digital arrests have recently emerged as a common form of digital fraud in India, costing Indians a significant portion of their hard-earned money. However, digital arrest is merely a scam that may be avoided by being aware of the fraudulent techniques used by con artists to digitally arrest victims. 

During his recent Mann ki Baat address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned the country about the surge of digital arrest frauds. He said that “there is nothing like digital arrest in our law” and that this is merely fraud. According to PM Modi, digital arrest can be avoided by following the three steps of digital security: stop, think, and act.

What is a digital arrest?

In a digital arrest scam, con artists pose as the CBI, police, and occasionally RBI personnel. They first use phone calls to reach their victims before moving on to video calls via Skype and WhatsApp.

The scammers typically use a police station-style setup after switching to video to trick victims into thinking that officers are making the call. 

The con artists claim that the target’s detention results from their alleged unlawful activities. 

A warrant for a digital arrest for the purported offense is threatened to the victims. To revoke the digital arrest warrant, the scammers then demand cash or a penalty. Following payment, the scammers vanish, leaving the victims with a financial loss.

Thousands of people have fallen victim to such scammers. According to data from the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP ), this fraud is very common. An Indian Express report using NCRP statistics claims that in the first quarter of 2024, Indians lost up to Rs 120 crore due to digital arrest cases.

How to spot a digital arrest scam?

During his recent Mann ki Baat address, Prime Minister Modi issued a warning to the country on the increase in digital arrest frauds. The PM said there is nothing like digital arrest in our law and the gang of criminals doing this are enemies of society.

Scams using digital arrest are detectable. First off, nobody from the government calls people and threatens them or demands money. PM Modi claims that no government organization calls people to demand money. 

Second, there’s no reason to be alarmed if you receive such a call. You should realize that the scammers have gathered your personal information and are attempting to intimidate you. 

Thirdly, scammers frequently fabricate an emergency to force you to act impulsively. By staying on the call all the time, scammers exert pressure on the victim. It may be a case of cybercrime if you believe that the con artists are inciting a sense of urgency. 

Fourth, you should be on guard if the con artists implicate you in a significant crime while on the phone. Since you haven’t done anything illegal, you can tell right once that this call is fraudulent.

How to protect yourself from a digital arrest scam?

The key to avoiding being a victim of digital arrest scams is to remain alert and aware of such fraudulent activities. According to PM Modi, there are three steps to digital security: stop, think, and act.

* There is nothing like digital arrest in our law.

* No government agency calls people and threatens them, nor does it demand money over a video call.

* Don’t panic when you receive a call. Instead, take a screenshot and record a call.

* Verify the identification of fraudsters posing as law enforcement authorities by getting in touch with the government or law enforcement officials directly through the appropriate route. 

* The first thing to do if you fall victim to a digital arrest scam is to report your bank and freeze your account right away.

* Never divulge private information to third parties, including KYC details, bank details like – user ID password, card details, CVV, OTPs or PIN number.

* Victims should call the national cyber helpline 1930 and report such incidents on cybercrime.gov.in.

Post-pandemic, remote work has become widespread, bringing significant security risks in accessing corporate resources from home. Attackers are exploiting employee devices and networks, which are now outside the organisational perimeter, to launch sophisticated cyberattacks, leading to data breaches and massive losses.
Traditional solutions like Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) fall short, paving the way for the era of Zero Trust Security and and Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA).Rakesh Datta, a distinguished engineering leader in the Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) field, recently spoke to engineering freshmen during a virtual orientation. He emphasized that making remote work safer for millions of users has become an urgent priority, according to a statement released on Saturday.
Datta, was a senior technical leader at Microsoft, has played a pivotal role in launching the company’s first SASE/SSE solution, Microsoft Entra Internet Access. “My team’s work significantly reduced the attacks and risks associated with accessing Microsoft’s M365 suite and other SaaS apps for enterprise customers,” Datta said.
Datta, who is an Engineering Leader at SASE pioneer Zscaler at present, mentioned that he is now leading projects on emerging technologies around SASE as well as contributing towards the broader Zero Trust industry strategy through his involvement with the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), which collaborates with government bodies and the industry at large.
“With evolving threats, remote work demands a modern approach to security. Zero Trust Security reduces the attack surface and ensures security for every single access made to the enterprise resources,” he told students.
Despite a tight job market, Datta believes skilled workers in networking and security are always in demand. He advocates for nations to invest in developing the next generation of security experts.
Through his advisory role at the Cybersecurity Clinic, to bridge the nation’s cybersecurity skills gap, and as a guest lecturer at San Jose State University, he advises students to master practical skills, pursue industry certifications, and contribute to open-source projects. “Hands-on experience and staying updated on trends are crucial for standing out,” he emphasised.

Star Health, India’s biggest health insurer, on Saturday said it had received a ransom demand of $68,000 from a cyberhacker in connection with a leak of customer data and medical records.

Star, which has a roughly $4 billion market cap, is battling a reputational and business crisis since Reuters reported on Sept. 20 that a hacker had used Telegram chatbots and a website to leak customers’ sensitive data, including tax details and medical claim papers.

The company, whose shares have declined 11%, has launched internal investigations and has taken legal action against Telegram and the hacker, whose website continues to share samples of Star customers’ data.

Star, which has previously said it is a “victim of a targeted malicious cyberattack“, on Saturday revealed for the first time that in August “the threat actor demanded a ransom of $68,000 in an email” addressed to the company’s managing director and its chief executive.

The statement came after Indian stocks exchanges sought clarifications from Star on a Friday over a Reuters report that the company was investigating allegations that its chief security officer was involved in the data leak.

Star reiterated on Saturday it has found no wrongdoing by the official, Amarjeet Khanuja, though the internal investigation is ongoing.

Telegram has declined to share the account details or permanently ban accounts linked to the hacker – an individual dubbed xenZen – “despite multiple notices issued in this regard,” Star said on Saturday.

Star said it has “sought the assistance” of Indian cyber security authorities to “help us identify” the hacker.

Telegram did not respond to a request for comment.

The Dubai-based messenger app has previously said it removed the chatbots when Reuters flagged them to the platform.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Star Health, India’s biggest health insurer, on Saturday said it had received a ransom demand of $68,000 from a cyberhacker in connection with a leak of customer data and medical records.

Star, which has a roughly $4 billion market cap, is battling a reputational and business crisis since Reuters reported on Sept. 20 that a hacker had used Telegram chatbots and a website to leak customers’ sensitive data, including tax details and medical claim papers.

The company, whose shares have declined 11%, has launched internal investigations and has taken legal action against Telegram and the hacker, whose website continues to share samples of Star customers’ data.

Star, which has previously said it is a “victim of a targeted malicious cyberattack“, on Saturday revealed for the first time that in August “the threat actor demanded a ransom of $68,000 in an email” addressed to the company’s managing director and its chief executive.

The statement came after Indian stocks exchanges sought clarifications from Star on a Friday over a Reuters report that the company was investigating allegations that its chief security officer was involved in the data leak.

Star reiterated on Saturday it has found no wrongdoing by the official, Amarjeet Khanuja, though the internal investigation is ongoing.

Telegram has declined to share the account details or permanently ban accounts linked to the hacker – an individual dubbed xenZen – “despite multiple notices issued in this regard,” Star said on Saturday.

Star said it has “sought the assistance” of Indian cyber security authorities to “help us identify” the hacker.

Telegram did not respond to a request for comment.

The Dubai-based messenger app has previously said it removed the chatbots when Reuters flagged them to the platform.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Star Health, India’s biggest health insurer, on Saturday said it had received a ransom demand of $68,000 from a cyberhacker in connection with a leak of customer data and medical records.

Star, which has a roughly $4 billion market cap, is battling a reputational and business crisis since Reuters reported on Sept. 20 that a hacker had used Telegram chatbots and a website to leak customers’ sensitive data, including tax details and medical claim papers.

The company, whose shares have declined 11%, has launched internal investigations and has taken legal action against Telegram and the hacker, whose website continues to share samples of Star customers’ data.

Star, which has previously said it is a “victim of a targeted malicious cyberattack“, on Saturday revealed for the first time that in August “the threat actor demanded a ransom of $68,000 in an email” addressed to the company’s managing director and its chief executive.

The statement came after Indian stocks exchanges sought clarifications from Star on a Friday over a Reuters report that the company was investigating allegations that its chief security officer was involved in the data leak.

Star reiterated on Saturday it has found no wrongdoing by the official, Amarjeet Khanuja, though the internal investigation is ongoing.

Telegram has declined to share the account details or permanently ban accounts linked to the hacker – an individual dubbed xenZen – “despite multiple notices issued in this regard,” Star said on Saturday.

Star said it has “sought the assistance” of Indian cyber security authorities to “help us identify” the hacker.

Telegram did not respond to a request for comment.

The Dubai-based messenger app has previously said it removed the chatbots when Reuters flagged them to the platform.

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

India’s Star Health is investigating accusations that its chief information security officer played a role in a data leak by a self-styled hacker who used Telegram chatbots and websites to disseminate customers’ medical records and personal data.

The country’s biggest health insurer, Star told Reuters that the official, Amarjeet Khanuja, was co-operating in its investigation into the leak, which has so far turned up no evidence of wrongdoing by him.

The investigation comes after the hacker, an individual dubbed xenZen, publicly asserted on his website that the executive had “sold all this data to me”.

Khanuja, the firm’s chief information security officer (CISO), did not respond to a request for comment.

“Our CISO has been duly co-operating in the investigation and we have not arrived at any finding of wrongdoing by him till date,” Star said in Wednesday’s statement.

Last month Star Health sued Telegram and the hacker after Reuters reported on Sept. 20 that the hacker used chatbots on the messaging app to leak customer details, before setting up websites providing easy access to the data.

Star was trading down 2% on Thursday, and has lost about 6% since the Reuters report.

“We were the victim of a targeted, malicious cyberattack, resulting in unauthorized and illegal access to certain data,” Star said.

Independent cybersecurity experts were leading its forensic investigation, Star added in the statement, and it was also working closely with authorities, to whom it had reported the incident.

Earlier, Star said its initial assessment showed “no widespread compromise”, adding, “Sensitive customer data remains secure.”

A court in Star’s southern home state of Tamil Nadu has granted it a temporary injunction ordering Telegram and the hacker to block any chatbots or websites in India that make the data available online.

Telegram has not commented on the lawsuit, while the hacker has vowed to join the hearings online if permitted to do so.

Star’s legal challenge to Telegram comes amid growing scrutiny of the platform globally and the recent arrest of its founder Pavel Durov in France, with the app’s content moderation and features allegedly abused for illegal activities.

Durov and Telegram denied wrongdoing and are addressing the criticism.

Telegram has previously said it removed the chatbots when Reuters flagged them to the messaging platform’s team.

On Thursday, an online website made by the hacker was still allowing people to merely click on a start button to receive samples of the Star Health policy-related data, including claim documents and medical records of patients.

Star did not comment on the website.

“We urge all platforms, hosting companies, social media channels and users to take swift and decisive action to halt such activities,” it said.

The Telegram feature allowing users to create chatbots is widely credited with helping the Dubai-based messaging app become one of the world’s biggest, with 900 million active user a month.

The hacker’s website offered claim document samples in PDF format, while users can also request up to 20 samples from 31.2 million datasets comprising details such as names, policy numbers and even body mass index (BMI).

© Thomson Reuters 2024

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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