"Digital arrest" is no longer a concern limited to India. The Bengaluru city police have arrested a gang of 16 people who, in a manner similar to "digital arrest" frauds, allegedly cheated US and Canadian citizens out of huge amounts of money by claiming to be from federal agencies investigating crimes related to illegal drugs and money laundering. Seemant Kumar Singh, Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru, announced the arrests on Tuesday and said that a special team would be formed to investigate the matter further. The police received a tip-off that a fake BPO company named Cybits Solutions Pvt Ltd was being run in HSR Layout police limits. The South Division police raided the company on October 7 and found that it had hired more than 25 young people under the pretext of providing legitimate employment. They were being trained in online cyber fraud and engaged in a criminal conspiracy to collect information from unsuspecting individuals online, according to the police. Seemant Kumar Singh said the accused contacted US citizens via internet calls, falsely claiming that they were investigators or officials from US law enforcement agencies. They would intimidate victims, alleging their involvement in drug trafficking or money laundering cases, and under the pretext of “helping” them, would demand money online to “settle” the matter, thereby illegally obtaining large sums of money through cybercrime. The accused also showed fake police and FBI ID cards. Recruitment through LinkedIn and other job sites The accused revealed that they had found job offers on WorkIndia, LinkedIn, and similar websites advertising openings in BPOs providing online services to the USA, Canada, and other countries. The company’s managers had lured jobseekers from various states by promising free accommodation and work opportunities in Bengaluru, the police said. They arranged houses in HSR Layout and BTM Layout, as well as cab and food facilities. After three weeks of telecaller training, employees were instructed to call customers in the US using names such as “U.S. Federal Investigation Service” and “U.S. Postal Service Investigation Section”. Through a live server provided by the company, they would speak to victims, accuse them of being involved in criminal cases, show fake police IDs, and demand money in exchange for avoiding “arrest”. The defrauded amounts were deposited into the company’s wallets or bank accounts. When investigators examined the computer systems, they found that the accused were using fake “digital arrest scripts” and multiple online calling tools and fake websites to contact US citizens, deceive them, and extort money, the police said. Seemant Kumar Singh said the employees lived in two paying guest facilities and were stepping out only at night to work at the office. A police officer said, "There were clear directions for the employees that they were not supposed to speak with outsiders and not to reveal any information regarding work. The salaries of these employees were about Rs 25,000, but everyone used to get incentives based on the amount they siphon from US and Canadian nationals. We took the data and bank statements and found out that many of the employees have received incentives up to Rs 5 lakh in a month. Definitely, they would have siphoned crores of rupees. They were speaking English with a US accent." While the company had been operating for two years, the police say it was just a unit of the entire operation. "In digital arrest, generally, there would be a fake court, a fake police station, and others. But we have not found those things here. We suspect the kingpin is sitting somewhere else," the officer said. "The employees were trained to act like US federal employees, and scripts were also given to them for reference while making calls. We have informed the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for further details to see if any “digital arrest” cases were filed there," a police officer added. Among the arrested accused, eight are from Maharashtra, four from Meghalaya, and one each from Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Gujarat. The police have seized 41 computer systems, two attendance registers, 4 script notebooks, 25 mobile phones, an ID card, one IP device, and four routers. The accused have been sent to judicial custody, but the HSR Layout police said they would approach the court for their custody for further investigation.
