Hyderabad: Deepak Karmugekar, a Hyderabad-based social media influencer, in collaboration with the Hyderabad Police, on Saturday, February 14, began raising awareness on the “digital arrest” scam – a kind of fraud where scammers impersonate police or government officials on video call, falsely accusing victims of crimes they didn’t commit and extorting money by threatening arrest or legal action.
Karmungekar shared a video on social media platform Instagram and captioned it, “This reel is part of cybercrime awareness initiative by Hyderabad Commissioner of Police VC Sajjanar.”
In the reel, Karmungekar addresses the public. “What’s the matter? Why have you made that face? Did the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) call you?” he asks before explaining that such calls are made by fraudsters. “You paid money to the CBI because they appeared on a video call? You have been scammed, this is called a digital arrest,” he said.
He said that the fraudsters impersonate officials from these agencies to gain money from the victims by pressurising them and using fear tactics. They make video calls on the pretext of conducting a verification.
The influencer said that these scammers have all the details about the victim, where they work and their residential address. They want to keep the victims in constant fear and pressure to extract money.
How to deal with digital arrest
The influencer shared tips to deal with digital arrests and said that people must remember that no law enforcement agency connects with people on video calls. “In case you receive such calls, first, you must calm down. Don’t provide any personal information to anyone,” Karmungekar said.
He urged the public to think before panicking. “If anyone asks for money, stating that the victim has been booked for some offence, you should question why the agency contacted you and asked for money in such cases,” he said.
The influencer then urged the public to take action against scamsters by recording the calls and contacting the national cyber helpline “1930” or to report the interaction to the cybercrime website.
Cybercrime in Hyderabad in 2025
The awareness campaign by the Hyderabad Police comes at a time when the city witnessed a dip in cybercrime by 8 per cent in 2025.
According to Hyderabad Police’s annual crime report 2025, as many as 3,735 cases of cybercrime were registered last year, compared to 4,042 cases in 2024. There was a reported loss of Rs 319 crore in cybercrime cases throughout the year, which is marginally less than the Rs 385 crore lost in 2024.
With an 18 per cent detection rate, the police arrested 566 accused, and the commissionerate officers refunded Rs 30.05 crore to the victims. In Hyderabad, 740 cases of investment fraud were reported in 2025.
A total of 458 one-time password (OTP) fraud cases were registered in the city, amounting to losses of Rs 11.75 crore, signifying an increase in the number of people being duped through such frauds.
Trading frauds also saw a similarly high number, with 430 cases filed, resulting in a staggering loss of over Rs 133 crore.
Digital arrest scams had particularly severe consequences, with incidents in 2025 leading to losses of Rs 33.81 crore and, in some cases, pushing victims to take extreme steps, including dying by suicide. Customer care and job fraud together resulted in cumulative losses of more than Rs 3 crore, while 34 loan fraud cases alone recorded a loss of Rs 3.99 crore.
Meanwhile, 10 cases of honey trap or sextortion were registered in the city, with victims losing Rs 52.49 lakh, the data revealed.
The report also flagged 12 matrimonial fraud cases, with victims being duped of a total of Rs 1.27 crore, and eight WhatsApp display photo scams saw a loss of Rs 2.22 crore. With younger online users constantly gaming online, the authorities noted four significant cases where victims lost Rs 1.64 crore.
Police issue advisory against AI fraud
With the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) on the rise, fraudsters can now use deepfake and AI-generated content to create fake voices and even videos of people you know to request money, the police warned. It is always advisable to first verify such claims with trusted sources before acting on them, they added.
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