Apex court seeks AI-led fraud detection and accountability of banks, telecom providers, and SIM issuers
The Supreme Court’s taking cognisance of rising cybercrimes — including defrauding people through so-called “digital arrests” — has not come a day too soon. There is hardly a day when the media does not report people being cheated by cybercriminals.
As per official information, such criminals have cheated over ₹3,000 crore from gullible citizens, mostly senior citizens, by posing as policemen and “ordering digital arrest” by forcing them to remain confined to their houses and keep themselves constantly visible through mobile or CCTV cameras.
The victims are then blackmailed into parting with their hard-earned money to get their relatives “released” from police custody. At times, the victims are told that their Aadhaar card or other documents are being misused by criminals and that they could face jail terms.
Not only do the fraudsters dress as police or CBI officers, they also set up fake “courtrooms” with “Supreme Court judges” addressing victims through video calls.
Shockingly, among the victims are highly educated and supposedly aware citizens such as retired bureaucrats, doctors, engineers, businessmen, architects, and even defence officers.
Cybercriminals Stay Ahead While Awareness Remains Low
Clearly, the cybercriminals remain one step ahead of the law-enforcement authorities by finding ingenious ways to cheat gullible people. Of late, the government has been “educating” the public through mass media, including television and radio, but it is evident that the reach is limited.
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It has started a phone helpline (1930) and set up a website for reporting cyber frauds, but again the message is not reaching the vulnerable sections of society. Even the recovery rate, in cases where fraud is reported promptly, is abysmally low because the fraudsters have created complicated networks of bank accounts through which the money is flushed out.
It is in this context that the Supreme Court has granted sweeping powers to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe “digital arrest” scam cases across the country, directing states and Union Territories to grant sanction to the federal agency for probing such cases within their jurisdiction.
The Court further allowed the CBI to initiate action against complicit bank staff and obtain relevant information from social media intermediaries and telecom operators to net the culprits involved in the scam.
The order is significant because it has directly asked the CBI to initiate the probe without seeking permission from the state governments.
Instead, it directed the states that had barred the CBI from taking up investigations without their consent to provide approval to the agency to probe cybercrimes. Since these criminals operate across states, unhindered CBI investigation is essential.
A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi also sought the Reserve Bank of India’s response on implementing artificial intelligence (AI) or machine-learning technology to identify and freeze bank accounts used by cybercriminals.
Fixing Systemic Loopholes: Banks, SIM Cards, and Digital Evidence
“The digital arrest scam undoubtedly requires immediate attention of the premier investigation agency and therefore we proceed further with a clear direction that CBI shall investigate cases reported as Digital Arrest scam,” the bench said in its order.
The directions, issued in a suo motu proceeding initiated by the apex court on October 17, cleared the path for the CBI to undertake a comprehensive probe by removing all possible legal and administrative roadblocks.
It is indeed shocking that those who are directly or indirectly helping the cybercriminals have so far remained off the hook. For instance, mobile phone companies that issue SIM cards used for making calls through fake or unchecked documents, and bank officials who open “suspicious” accounts without monitoring huge or sudden transactions.
Taking cognisance of these loopholes, the Court has given the CBI a “free hand” to probe the role of bankers under the Prevention of Corruption Act in opening new bank accounts used in the digital arrest fraud. It has also allowed law-enforcement agencies to “freeze” bank accounts traceable to cybercrimes even without a first information report.
Cyber Scam
The bench further directed social media intermediaries and telecom service providers to provide content data and details of SIM cards as required by the CBI. It also asked intermediaries to preserve data on phones used in such crimes.
The bench flagged the alarming issue of multiple SIM cards being issued to a single user and called on the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to submit a proposal for binding guidelines against service providers to prevent misuse of SIM cards.
The Court also took notice of frauds relating to duping people through lucrative investment or job offers but said it would address those at a later stage.
The CBI and other law-enforcing agencies must hold accountable the bankers who open such fake accounts and the mobile service providers who issue SIM cards on fraudulent documents.
At the same time, it should be the responsibility of the younger generation to educate seniors in the family and community to make them aware of how cybercriminals operate — and that there is no concept of “digital arrest” in Indian law. Society must collectively take up cudgels against such criminals while the government adopts proactive steps to prevent such crimes. 
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Vipin Pubby
The author, a freelance journalist, is a former Resident Editor of Indian Express, Chandigarh, and reported on the political developments in Jammu and Kashmir, North-Eastern India, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab in his long, illustrious career.
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