WhatsApp banned 9,400 accounts involved in digital arrest scams since January this year: Centre to SC

 

A multi-pronged action involving telecom regulators, service providers, the RBI, tech giants and the CBI has been taken to tackle the rising menace of digital arrest scams, besides WhatsApp banning 9,400 accounts involved in such offences, the Centre has told the Supreme Court.

 The action was detailed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which has filed a comprehensive status report in pursuance of the Supreme Court’s directions of February 9 to curb rising cases of digital arrests in the country, according to sources.

 A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, which had taken Suo Motu cognisance of online frauds, including digital arrests, had issued a slew of directions including asking the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), and others to jointly hold a meeting to come up with a framework for providing compensation in digital arrest cases.

 The fresh status report, filed through Attorney General R Venkataramani, detailed the enforcement actions taken by tech giant WhatsApp in the last 12 weeks since January this year.

 “In direct response to concerns raised by I4C, MEITY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology) and DoT, WhatsApp in January 2026 launched a structured, multi-week dedicated investigation specifically focused on digital arrest scams targeting Indian users.

This investigation followed a rigorous methodology: identify seed signals map networks enforce against the entire network build scaled automated defences,” it said, adding 9,400 accounts have been banned due to alleged involvement in digital arrests.

To further protect users, WhatsApp is deploying several “enforcement innovations”, including logo detection where systems to identify and remove accounts using official police or Government insignia in display pictures, the status report said.

 WhatsApp is contemplating introducing a new feature to warn users when they receive a call from a “newly created” or “non-tenured” account, a common trait of scam profiles, the status report said, adding that process to automatically hide profile pictures of suspicious unknown callers to prevent scammers from using visual cues of authority will also be introduced.

 The DoT and the Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have committed to a strict new timeline for neutralising fraudulent SIM cards, including the fact that the committee is working toward a mechanism to block suspicious SIM cards within 2 to 3 hours of identification, it said.

 The report said the CBI has set a `10 crore loss threshold for taking over digital arrest investigations.

 Currently, the CBI has re-registered three major cases, including two cases from Gujarat involving massive financial frauds and a high-profile Delhi case where a single victim was defrauded of `22.92 crore, it said.

 The report said a high-level Inter-Departmental Committee chaired by senior officials held its third meeting on March 12, bringing together stakeholders, including telecom operators, financial regulators, and digital platforms.

 One of the key central proposals is the rollout of a Biometric Identity Verification System (BIVS) to enable real-time, cross-network monitoring of SIM card issuance, it said.

The DoT has been tasked with implementing this system by December 2026, it added.

 The report said WhatsApp has committed to several safeguards, including implementation of SIM-binding mechanisms within four to six.

 The SIM binding is a security mandate requiring the active, KYC-verified SIM card to be physically present and active in the phone for the app to function.

If the SIM is removed, swapped, or inactive, the app will stop working.

The RBI, as per the report, has finalised a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) directing banks to place temporary holds on suspicious transactions to curb money mule activities.

 Urging the top court to take on record the report, the MHA sought issuance of appropriate directions to DoT to implement measures identified by Inter-Departmental Committee by requiring due compliance by TSPs and enlisting their cooperation towards expediting notification and implementation of “Telecommunications (User Identification) Rules and the Biometric Identity Verification System (BIVS) for national level visibility of SIM issuance”.

 It also sought direction to evolve a mechanism for expeditious blocking of suspicious or fraudulent SIM cards used in cybercrime cases, including digital arrest scams.

 “MeitY is advised to secure compliance by WhatsApp, to ensure timely implementation of the safeguards and commitments made before the Inter17 Departmental Committee, including implementation of the SIM binding mechanism in compliance with the DoT circular,” it said.