Beyond gullibility: On digital arrest scams

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant’s exasperation, during the Supreme Court’s hearing on October 29 on the “digital arrest” scams, that people still fall for such scams despite abundant warnings and orders from the Court is understandable. About ₹800 crore has been lost to these scams this year even after recoveries, a hefty sum from the savings of individual victims. But this is not merely about gullibility. Scammers posing as CBI or police officers succeed because their victims, older citizens in particular, defer to or fear law enforcement. When Indian police are widely seen as high-handed towards ordinary citizens and as serving only the powerful, the threat of an “arrest” over a video call cannot be that implausible for many.