WhatsApp Bans 9,400 Accounts Linked to Digital Arrest Scams: Centre to SC

NEW DELHI, Apr 28: The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that messaging platform WhatsApp has banned 9,400 accounts involved in digital arrest scams since January this year as part of a multi-agency crackdown.

The action forms part of a coordinated effort involving telecom regulators, service providers, the Reserve Bank of India, tech companies and the Central Bureau of Investigation to curb the rising menace of such cyber frauds.

A status report filed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs detailed enforcement steps taken in compliance with the apex court’s directions issued on February 9.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, which took suo motu cognisance of online frauds, had directed agencies including the RBI and Department of Telecommunications (DoT) to evolve a framework for compensation in such cases.

According to the report, WhatsApp launched a focused investigation in January 2026 targeting digital arrest scams and adopted a structured approach to identify networks, map their operations and enforce action at scale.

To strengthen user protection, the platform is introducing measures such as detection of fake accounts using police or government insignia, warnings for calls from newly created or suspicious accounts, and automatic hiding of profile pictures of unknown callers.

The DoT and telecom service providers have committed to a mechanism to block fraudulent SIM cards within two to three hours of detection.

The report said the CBI has fixed a threshold of Rs 10 crore loss for taking over investigations and has already re-registered three major cases, including two from Gujarat and one in Delhi involving a fraud of Rs 22.92 crore.

A high-level inter-departmental committee has also proposed a Biometric Identity Verification System (BIVS) for real-time monitoring of SIM issuance, with the DoT tasked to implement it by December 2026.

Additionally, the RBI has finalised a standard operating procedure directing banks to temporarily freeze suspicious transactions to curb money mule activities.

The Centre has urged the Supreme Court to direct timely implementation of these measures, including SIM verification systems and safeguards proposed by WhatsApp, to strengthen the fight against digital arrest scams. (Agencies)