Category : Polity & Governance

DIGITAL ARREST

The Supreme Court has given free hand to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to crack down on Digital scammers

Key Directions given by Supreme Court –

1. CBI has been given free hand to launch anti corruption probe against bankers involved in opening of mule accounts linked to cybercrime under Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.
2. Various state governments including Tamil Nadu , Karnataka etc have been directed to give their consent under Section 6 of Delhi Special Police Establishment Act for pan – India probe by CBI.
3. The Court has issued notice to RBI to respond on the use of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning to trace ‘Layering’ through multiple bank accounts to escape detection.
4. Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code)Rule 2021 was invoked. Telecom companies will extend their cooperation to investigation.

Initiatives taken by Government of India against Cyber Crimes –

1. India has established Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to enhance coordination among Law Enforcement Agencies to Cybercrimes.
2. Samanvaya Platform for inter-state linkages for robust investigation against cybercrimes.
3.  Multifaceted Awareness Campaigns

Supreme Court has identified three categories of Cyber Scams –

1. Digital Arrest – Victims are made to believe Government authorities are entitled to their hard earned money and they are subjected to coercive actions of extortion.
2. Investment Scheme – Victims are lured by attractive investment schemes to deposit large amount but eventually are duped of the money.
3. Part – Time Jobs – Victims are paid for “free tasks” like positive reviews or watching YouTube. They are later made to pay huge amounts for premium tasks.  

Practice Q - Digital scams are mostly targeted to senior citizens. What steps should be taken to prevent these scams?