Supreme Court of India was informed of a multi-agency crackdown on digital arrest scams involving regulators, RBI, CBI and tech firms. WhatsApp banned 9,400 linked accounts, strengthening cybercrime enforcement efforts.
The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that a coordinated, multi-agency effort involving telecom regulators, telecom service providers, the RBI, major tech companies, and the CBI has been initiated to curb the growing menace of digital arrest scams. The submission also states that WhatsApp has banned 9,400 accounts reportedly linked to these offences.
The detailed measures were described in a comprehensive status report filed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, following the Supreme Court’s directions dated February 9, to address the rise in digital arrest cases in the country, as per sources.
A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant after taking suo motu cognisance of online frauds including digital arrests had issued several directions. These included instructing the Reserve Bank of India and the Department of Telecommunications, among others, to jointly develop a framework for compensation in cases involving digital arrests.
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The new status report was filed through Attorney General R. Venkataramani and includes enforcement actions taken by WhatsApp during the last 12 weeks since January 2026.
Adding that 9,400 accounts were banned for alleged involvement in digital arrest scams, it said,
“In direct response to concerns raised by I4C, MEITY 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,”
To strengthen user protection further, the report states that WhatsApp is rolling out multiple “enforcement innovations.” These include logo detection systems designed to identify and remove accounts that display official police or government insignia in their profile pictures.
The report also says WhatsApp is considering the introduction of a new warning feature to alert users when they receive calls from “newly created” or “non-tenured” accounts an attribute commonly seen in scam profiles. It further states that WhatsApp will also introduce processes to automatically conceal profile pictures of suspicious unknown callers, aimed at preventing scammers from leveraging visual cues of official authority.
It adds that the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and telecom service providers have committed to a strict timeline for neutralising fraudulent SIM cards. The report notes that the committee is working toward a mechanism to block suspicious SIM cards within 2 to 3 hours of their identification.
The report further states that the CBI has set a Rs 10 crore loss threshold for taking over investigations related to digital arrest scams. It adds that, so far, the CBI has re-registered three major cases, including two cases from Gujarat involving large-scale financial fraud, and a high-profile Delhi case in which a single victim was allegedly defrauded of Rs 22.92 crore.
According to the submission, a high-level Inter-Departmental Committee chaired by senior officials held its third meeting on March 12, bringing together stakeholders such as telecom operators, financial regulators, and digital platforms.
One of the central proposals mentioned is the rollout of a Biometric Identity Verification System, intended to enable real-time, cross-network monitoring of SIM card issuance. The report states that the DoT has been tasked with implementing this system by December 2026.
The report also notes that WhatsApp has committed to safeguards including implementation of SIM-binding mechanisms within four to six weeks. It explains that SIM binding is a security requirement under which an active, KYC-verified SIM card must be physically present and active in the phone for the application to function; if the SIM is removed, swapped, or becomes inactive, the app will stop working.
As per the report, the RBI has finalised a Standard Operating Procedure instructing banks to place temporary holds on suspicious transactions, with the goal of curbing money mule activity.
In seeking the Supreme Court’s directions, the MHA urged that the report be taken on record and that appropriate directions be issued to the DoT for implementing measures identified by the Inter-Departmental Committee. It also sought compliance by TSPs (telecom service providers) and requested their cooperation in expediting the notification and implementation of “Telecommunications Rules” and the Biometric Identity Verification System to ensure national-level visibility of SIM issuance.
The MHA further sought directions to evolve a mechanism for the prompt blocking of suspicious or fraudulent SIM cards used in cybercrime cases, including digital arrest scams.
It said,
“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…,”
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