New Delhi: WhatsApp has banned 9,400 accounts allegedly linked to digital arrest scams in India since January 2026, the Centre has told the Supreme Court,
according to a PTI report. The action forms part of a wider crackdown involving the Ministry of Home Affairs, telecom authorities, RBI, DoT, MeitY, WhatsApp and the CBI.
The update was shared through a status report filed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, or I4C, under the Ministry of Home Affairs. The report follows the Supreme Court’s February 9 directions on rising online frauds, including digital arrest cases, where scammers scare victims by pretending to be police, customs, CBI or court officials.
WhatsApp accounts banned in digital arrest scam crackdown
According to the Centre’s status report, WhatsApp launched a dedicated investigation in January 2026 after concerns were raised by I4C, MeitY and DoT.
The report said, “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.”
It added that the investigation used a process to “identify seed signals, map networks, enforce against the entire network, and build scaled automated defences.”
That means WhatsApp did not only act on single accounts. It looked at wider scam networks and banned linked accounts involved in such activity.
Supreme Court had asked for action
A Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant had taken suo motu cognisance of online frauds, including digital arrest scams. The court had asked bodies such as the RBI and DoT to work together on a framework for compensation in such cases.
This is a big point because digital arrest scams are not small-time spam calls anymore. Many victims have lost lakhs and even crores after being trapped on long video calls by fake officers.
What digital arrest scams look like
In a typical case, scammers call a victim and claim that their Aadhaar, bank account, phone number or parcel has been linked to a crime. Then they threaten arrest and ask the victim to stay on a video call. Money is often transferred under pressure.
The latest update shows that the government is pushing platforms and regulators to act together. For users, the basic rule remains simple: no real agency arrests people over WhatsApp video calls. If such a call comes, disconnect and report it.
