Alert: Mumbai Police Commissioner Warns Public About Fake Arrest Notices
Alert: Mumbai Police Commissioner Warns Public About Fake Arrest Notices
Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar urges citizens to be cautious of fraudulent arrest notices circulating via email and messaging apps and to report such scams immediately.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Vivek Phansalkar has alerted the public about a rise in fake “arrest notices” being distributed through email, phone calls, and messaging apps. In a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), he advised people to ignore these fraudulent notices and report them to the authorities.
Phansalkar highlighted one particular scam where a fake notice falsely claimed that a court order was issued against the recipient’s IP address in connection with illegal activity, including pornography, and mentioned the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). He emphasized that any communication received in the name of the Mumbai Police Commissioner via mail, WhatsApp, SMS or phone calls should be disregarded.
“Received an arrest notice from the Commissioner of Mumbai Police? Report it to us immediately,” Phansalkar stated in his post, sharing a screenshot of one such notice. The fake document, poorly written in English, instructed the recipient to visit the commissioner’s office over an alleged court order.
This warning comes amidst a surge in online scams where fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officers to extort money from unsuspecting victims. Phansalkar stressed the importance of vigilance and urged citizens not to fall prey to these schemes but instead report them to the police.
