WhatsApp has banned over 9,400 suspicious accounts to prevent the “Digital Arrest” scam. This action was taken based on input from government agencies and internal company investigations over a 12-week period beginning January 2026. This information was provided by Attorney General R. Venkataramani to the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing a suo motu case of a growing number of digital scams in the country, in which fraudsters pose as police or government officials and defraud people of their money. Scam centers were operating from countries like Cambodia WhatsApp’s investigation revealed that most of the accounts targeting Indian users were operated from scam centers in Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia. The fraudsters used official terms and logos, such as “Delhi Police,” “Mumbai Headquarters,” “CBI,” and “ATS Department,” in their profile pictures and names to scare people. Not just waiting for complaints, focus on breaking the network WhatsApp said that they are using every input to map and eliminate the entire criminal network. Where the government had provided information about 3,800 accounts, WhatsApp expanded its investigation and took action on thousands of other linked accounts as well. 4 new safety features to prevent fraud WhatsApp is now bringing new tools to prevent fraud on the platform itself: Action started after fraud of Rs 1.5 crore with elderly couple This entire matter started in October 2025 when an elderly couple wrote a letter to the Supreme Court. They were defrauded of Rs 1.5 crore by people posing as CBI and IB officers. The fraudsters scared them by showing fake court orders through video conference. After this, the court sought responses from the center and agencies on such increasing cases across the country. Knowledge part: What is Digital Arrest? This is a cyber crime in which fraudsters pose as police or government officials and make video calls. They tell the victim that an illegal parcel has arrived in their name or they have been implicated in some case. After this, they are forced to stay in front of the camera for hours in the name of ‘digital arrest’ and money is transferred from bank accounts by showing fear of arrest.
