Supreme Court tightens rules to curb 'digital arrests', RBI to frame SOPs to deal with mule bank accounts
The RBI has been asked to prepare a comprehensive SOP for dealing with bank accounts opened or used to receive and transfer proceeds of cyber fraud.
The Supreme Court issued fresh nationwide guidelines on Tuesday to address the rising issue of "digital arrest" scams, a type of cyber fraud where fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officials to extort money from victims. The court's main directives included instructing the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to create a standard operating procedure (SOP) within four weeks for handling mule bank accounts used to launder money from such scams.
The court also ordered all states and Union territories to immediately set up grievance redressal and money restoration systems for cyber fraud victims, and to adopt the e-Zero FIR mechanism across the country. Additionally, the court asked the Union government to explore a shared liability and victim compensation framework for digital arrest scam victims, and directed all law enforcement agencies to operationalize the cyber fraud grievance redressal and money restoration systems.
The court emphasized the importance of continued vigilance and institutional strengthening, noting that while reported cases of digital arrest scams have decreased, sustained monitoring remains crucial.
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