Dear Readers,

Imagine the fear that strikes when your phone rings, and a voice on the other end says you're wanted for a crime. "Digital arrest," they call it, demanding compliance, money, silence. This is the reality faced by thousands of Indians – among them respected professionals, elderly retirees, and everyday people – who, despite their innocence, are losing their hard-earned savings to sophisticated scams.

In just four months this year, cybercriminals stole over ₹120 crore from unsuspecting Indians. The method is disturbingly powerful: posing as police or federal officers, scammers “digitally arrest” their victims on video calls, using forged documents, false uniforms and even staged court hearings to make their deception feel real.

Our story published on October 29 only scratches the surface of a far-reaching problem affecting everyday people like yourself. One victim, a scientist close to retirement, was stripped of his life’s savings. Another, an elderly businessman, was defrauded of ₹7 crore after being threatened with public disgrace.

This is where Scroll needs your help.

Pay for Unmasking India’s cyber scam crisis by Scroll.in

. Imagine being "digitally arrested" in your own home, by criminals dressed as policemen.. It often starts with a phone call. You are told your phone number is linked to a serious crime. . Or that the customs have intercepted a shipment in your name filled with drugs.. Even though they know they are innocent, most Indians will do anything to avoid a brush with the law. These scamsters prey on these fears, duping people into giving away their life's savings.. . It's big business: Indians could lose Rs 1.2 trillion to cyber frauds over the next year, government data suggests.. . Scroll wants to unearth how these scams work by tracing them to their source: South East Asia.. . Fund our investigative reporting in Cambodia, where criminal syndicates have trapped Indians as cyber slaves to fleece others back home.. . Armed with ground reporting, we will join the dots, explaining how a range of shifts in recent years have combined to create fertile conditions for these frauds: rampant data leaks, abuse of Aadhaar, lack of digital privacy, political misuse of investigative agencies, a jobs crisis, and more.. . Our series will also tell you what you can do to protect yourself, and if you have been scammed, how you can seek redress..

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We’re launching a series of deep investigative reports tracing these scams to their roots in Southeast Asia, where criminal syndicates enslave Indians to operate these schemes, exploiting a lack of jobs and data privacy protections. Your support can help us uncover how these frauds operate, expose those responsible, and guide our readers on protecting themselves.

Support our work It could protect someone from a call that could ruin their life.

Best,
Team Scroll