Bengaluru, Hyd, Delhi-NCR account for 2/3rd of all digital arrests: Home ministry analysis

BEngaluru, Hyderabad and the subject working capital neighborhood (NCR)  feature emerged as the raging spots of digital arrest incidents, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all digital arrest cases across the country, according to an analysis by the Union home ministry’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).People aware of the matter said the two south Indian cities and NCR account for nearly 65% of the cases of digital arrests, with Bengaluru reporting the highest 26.38%, followed by Hyderabad 19.97% and the Delhi-NCR with 18.14% in the first six months of 2025. HT has seen data for the first six months of 2025.To be sure, the exact number of cases was not immediately available.The increasing incidents of digital arrests in which fraudsters posing as law enforcement personnel con victims over video calls in fake cases and extort money has become a new challenge for police forces across the country. This could also be one of the topics approved for deliberation during the 60th DGP-IGP annual conference to be held in Chhattisgarh later this month.The in-house analysis of digital arrest cases by I4C also showed that most victims were between the ages of 30-45 years (41.10% victims), followed by 45-60 (35.59%). Apart from the three hot spots, incidents of digital arrests are also frequently reported from other cities like Mumbai, Surat, Pune, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Vadodara.The I4C is the MHA’s nodal agency to curb cyber crimes, provide a framework and put in place an ecosystem to deal with cyber crime cases. It is also involved in capacity building of all state agencies to deal with cyber fraud cases.“The fact that over 76% of the victims between 30 and 60 are targeted shows that the fraudsters are targeting people who are working, have savings and are looking for investments. The links are sent on all platforms such as Telegram, WhatsApp, Facebook, Email, and even websites with malicious links. Telegram and WhatsApp came across as the platform which was used to target victims,” an officer aware of the matter said.The Centre has, in recent years, published advisories for citizens to alert them on ”Blackmail” and ”Digital Arrest” by cyber criminals impersonating state/UT police, NCB, CBI, RBI and other law enforcement agencies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also spoken about digital arrests on October 27, 2024 and apprised citizens about it. Apart from issuing such advisories, the information related to digital arrests and cyber crime was also disseminated at the 2025 Maha Kumbh Mela.According to government data, the Centre has till date blocked over 942,000 SIM cards and 263,348 IMEIs linked to cyber fraud.