Ankush Bahuguna's 40 hour digital arrest calls for vigilance and awareness

“I know a lot of you are aware of it but I don’t think a lot of people understand the extent to which these scammers can go to control you!” - Ankush Bahuguna 

While our Whatsapp is filled with forwards sent on family groups with the intention of warning us about recent popular scams, most of us rarely watch them or pay heed to them. We often dismiss these conversations with, "How can one fall prey to it despite being constantly educated about it?" When content creator Ankush Bahuguna shared his story yesterday, it made these scams so much more real for everyone. 

According to the Reel he shared, he was under a digital arrest for over 40 hours after he fell prey to a scam that claimed his involvement with illegal activities. He received a call from a number, that seemed to be an international number, and something that started with an automated voice that informed him about the failed delivery of his courier to China, soon turned into a three-day-long nightmare that kept him locked up in his house and eventually a hotel.

While sharing the video, he said, “To everyone saying how could you fall for it it’s a scam - It’s easy to say but not everybody reacts the same way to panic, not everybody is aware of this scam, so many people have lost lakhs & crores to this scam. These people do research on you & tell you things they know will affect you & that’s exactly what happened. I don’t wish this on anyone. Stay safe and instead of calling this stupid, make ppl around you aware of it.” In the video, he talks about how the scammers were able to take advantage of his vulnerability causing him to not only lose his money but also suffer mentally. They managed to convince him to get him to agree to whatever they said and also cut any contact with his loved ones.

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A post shared by Wing It with Ankush Bahuguna (@wingitwithankush)

Ankush’s video about the incident opened the floor for people to share their own stories as a warning to be careful online. He also highlighted how everyone reacts to such scams differently and urged people to help spread the word about it with the people they care about instead of calling it "stupid". Following this, his comment section and stories were filled with people recalling similar incidents that happened to them or someone they knew. 

With the amount of time we spend online it doesn't seem unlikely to see that scams have shifted to the digital space. We have also come to understand that hearing stories of people becoming victims of these crimes and opening up about their experiences, not only helps us be more vigilant but also encourages us to look for the proper resources that we can turn to at times of distress.