Zerodha’s Nithin Kamath makes bold claim: Indians lost ₹2,000 crore to digital arrest scams in 2024

Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath has warned about the rising menace of digital arrest scams in India, revealing that victims lost over ₹2,000 crore to such frauds in 2024. In a post on X, Kamath highlighted the irony that no legal provision for digital arrests exists under Indian law, yet even well-educated individuals, including influencers like Ankush Bahuguna, have fallen prey.

Kamath also shared a Zerodha video detailing how these scams operate and advising people on how to protect themselves. “These scams work by instilling fear. People tend to make mistakes when they are afraid,” his post read.

In a recent response in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Home Affairs Sanjay Kumar stated that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not maintain specific data on digital arrest scams. However, the government has set up the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which has blocked more than 3,962 Skype IDs and 83,668 WhatsApp accounts linked to such frauds.

The scam typically begins with a phone call from someone posing as a police officer, claiming that a package in the recipient’s name has been seized for containing illegal items like drugs. The victim is then coerced into a WhatsApp video call with a scammer dressed as a police official, who threatens arrest and demands money to “settle the case.”

Kamath cautioned against reacting hastily to such calls. “Those of us who are educated may assume no one would fall for such obvious scams, but crores of Indians have been duped,” he wrote. He advised people to remain calm, seek legal counsel, or visit a local police station instead of engaging with unknown callers. “At the very least, consult someone knowledgeable, your lawyer, or just walk into the nearest police station,” he added. “Also, block or ignore calls and messages from unknown numbers.”