Clicks to cuffs: The jurisprudence of fear extortion

Abstract

Imagine a phone call claiming your bank account is linked to a crime, followed by a video call with someone in a police uniform, showing a fake arrest warrant bearing your name. No handcuffs, no police station, just a screen, a script, and enough fear to make people hand over their life savings. This is "digital arrest," now among India's most damaging cyber scams, costing citizens thousands of crores in recent years. This paper examines digital arrest as both a legal and psychological problem. It explains the scam's mechanics, scammers posing as CBI, ED, or police officials, using fake documents and mock courtrooms to pressure victims into panic-driven transfers, and traces the legal provisions currently used to prosecute such cases, mainly borrowed from the IT Act and Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, showing why these fall short in the absence of a dedicated offence. Drawing on real cases, including a West Bengal court judgment, it explores why the scam succeeds through fear and authority rather than technical skill, and proposes recommendations: recognising digital arrest as a distinct offence, tightening financial safeguards, and expanding public awareness. Keywords – Digital-arrest, cyber-fraud, legal reforms, Psychological manipu