Click on Pop Ups for download of malicious software
Explaining the modus operandi of the criminals, the CBI said— Victims were contacted by impersonation and induced to click on Pop Ups for download of malicious software onto their systems and subsequently induced to make payments for restoration of their system.
Operating since 2022, the syndicate used to cheat people living in other countries on the pretext of repairing their computer software.
Aimed at dismantling the cyber-enabled financial crime network, the third round of crackdown code-named ‘Chakra-III’ was executed in cooperation with other international law enforcement agencies, including the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Interpol.
The operation was launched after the agency’s International Operations Division registered a first information report (FIR) on July 22 alleging offences under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act.
As many as 43 people were arrested as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) busted a Gurugram call centre duping foreigners. The arrests were made after searches were conducted at seven locations across Delhi, Gurugram and Noida.
"It was revealed that transnational cyber-enabled financial crimes in this network were being coordinated across distributed centers mainly directed from a Call Centre Operating from DLF Cyber City, Gurugram," news agency ANI reported.
The CBI's crackdown on cyber criminals was part of an ongoing Operation CHAKRA-III. The central probe agency took action to "successfully dismantle a sophisticated cyber-enabled financial crime network that has been operating across multiple countries since 2022".
"This operation was executed with cooperation from other international law enforcement agencies including FBI (USA) and INTERPOL," the report added. The International Operations Division of CBI had registered a case in connection with the matter.
The CBI is now coordinating with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and law enforcement agencies in multiple countries through INTERPOL for follow up on leads.
“So far, 43 accused have been arrested. Further investigation is ongoing,” the CBI added.
What was found during searches?
The CBI raided the office of Innocent Technology (OPC) Pvt Ltd operating from DLF Cyber City, Gurugram, where the central agency found several agents on live calls aimed to cheat foreigners, officials were quoted by PTI as saying.
During the searches, the investigation teams recovered 130 computer hard disks, 65 mobile phones, five laptops, incriminating documents, financial transaction details, call recordings, victim details, and transcripts used for target
The victims would be lured into clicking “pop-up” messages allowing purported download of malicious software into their computer systems. Posing as representatives of software firms, the gang members would make the victims pay for restoring their systems. The agency found that the proceeds were being channelised from multiple countries to Hong Kong.
Second phase
In October 2023, as part of the ‘Chakra-II’ operation, the CBI achieved a major breakthrough in two cases involving an international online investment fraud worth hundreds of crores targeting Indians on the pretext of investment, loan, and job opportunities; and a cyber-enabled impersonation racket in which Singaporean citizens had been cheated.
In the first case, the agency alleged that the funds so raised were laundered via a complex network of UPI accounts, ultimately converging into cryptocurrency or gold purchases using forged credentials. The CBI had identified 137 shell companies – many listed with the Registrar of Companies in Bengaluru – engaged in such fraudulent acts. The second case was related to over 300 cyber-enabled frauds involving more than 100 Indian bank accounts spread across 10 States/Union Territory. Social engineering methods such as phishing, vishing, smishing, and fraudulent tech support, were used to cheat over 400 Singaporean citizens.
With regard to five other cases covered under ‘Chakra-II’, the identified illegal call centres had impacted over 2,000 Amazon and Microsoft customers mostly based in the United States, and also in Australia, Canada, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
The first edition of the operation named ‘Chakra-I’ was initiated in October 2022 when two call centres being run by cyber criminals since 2014-15 were found in Pune and Ahmedabad. The perpetrators would make clandestine calls to the prospective targets in the U.S. and lure them into making payments on various pretexts. The masked calls were made via the Voice over Internet Protocol technology to evade detection. The FBI had shared the initial information about the scam.