New Delhi : The government has submitted a detailed report before the Supreme Court outlining a coordinated, multi-agency strategy to tackle the growing menace of digital arrest scams. The report, prepared after consultations with multiple stakeholders, urges the court to issue directions to key authorities, including the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), to ensure uniform and time-bound implementation of safeguards.
The Centre has called for expedited implementation of the Telecommunications (User Identification) Rules and the Biometric Identity Verification System to ensure national-level visibility of SIM issuance. Telecom service providers have been asked to strictly comply with these frameworks and cooperate in their rollout. The report also stresses stronger verification and accountability mechanisms for Point of Sale (PoS) vendors involved in SIM activation, in line with the DoT’s August 31, 2023 circular.
Telecom operators and their PoS agents have been asked to extend full cooperation to law enforcement agencies by enabling real-time sharing of subscriber activation details and PoS data during investigations. The report directs MeitY to ensure compliance by WhatsApp with safeguards discussed with the Inter-Departmental Committee. These include implementation of SIM-binding mechanisms in line with the DoT’s November 28, 2025 circular, along with enhanced tools to detect and mitigate prolonged scam calls — one of the defining features of digital arrest frauds.
WhatsApp has been asked to retain data of deleted accounts for at least 180 days, in compliance with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) by acting promptly on signals related to scam networks, impersonation and fraudulent activity.
The report seeks Supreme Court directions to ensure uniform implementation of this SOP across jurisdictions, noting that divergent High Court orders have led to inconsistencies in handling such cases. A standardised framework, it argues, would enable faster response and minimise financial losses to victims. It further recommends strengthening the law to introduce civil liability for digital intermediaries in cases involving financial fraud, signalling a push towards greater platform accountability.
Digital arrest scams have emerged as a major category of cyber fraud, where criminals impersonate police or enforcement agencies and threaten victims with arrest, account freezing or passport cancellation to extract money under the guise of fines or security deposits. The scams typically rely on fear, spoofed communications, forged documents and prolonged calls to pressure victims.
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