13‑year‑old boy rescues parents from ‘digital arrest’ in UP, had read about similar incident in paper

BAREILLY: An alert 13‑year‑old boy foiled a cyber fraud attempt after criminals posing as NIA officers tried to “digitally arrest” his parents by claiming that his father’s phone number was linked to terrorists and a Rs 300 crore fraud.Tanmay, a Class 8 student, told TOI on Thursday, “The accused asked my parents to stay on video call...I was sure this was a case of digital arrest, as I had read about digital arrests in The Times of India some days ago. My suspicion grew when the accused wanted information about our properties, jewellery and ownership of our house.”Sanjay Saxena, 55, a bakery owner, said the fraudsters also sent an “arrest warrant“ on the phone.“My wife and I were so frightened that we had given all our bank details and talked about our valuables and properties. We were frozen with fear. It was my son who repeatedly asked me to disconnect the call,” said Saxena.“When my parents hesitated, I told my father to at least put the phone on flight mode for a while so that he could get some sleep. I told them that flight mode doesn’t disconnect a call. He agreed. And as soon as the call got cut, we informed the cops,” said Tanmay.ADG (Bareilly zone) Ramit Shamra told TOI, “The boy told us that he also keenly follows police campaigns against cyberfraud in newspapers.”Bareilly SSP Anurag Arya said, “An FIR in the matter has been registered and all the accounts of the bakery owner have been frozen so that the money stays safe. We will arrest the accused soon.”The Times of India has been actively campaigning against “digital arrest” scams by raising awareness, educating the public, and covering the legal and technological aspects needed to be understood to combat this growing menace. The newspaper urges victims to report such scams to police, national cyber helpline at 1930 or via cybercrime.gov.in.