300 accounts frozen, 229 mobile phones, 98 laptops, Rs 1.07 crore recovered: Ludhiana police bust ‘international cyber fraud syndicate’

More than 300 bank accounts have been frozen, and more are underway, said Ludhiana Police Commissioner Swapan Sharma.

“Acting upon credible intelligence inputs regarding this syndicate involved in cyber fraud activities targeting foreign nationals through online deception and financial scams, simultaneous raids were conducted at multiple locations, including commercial premises near Sandhu Tower and Silver Oak. During the operation, a total of 132 accused persons were apprehended from different illegal call centres,” the police added.

Modus operandi

CP Sharma said the accused persons were operating applications on electronic devices targeting foreign nationals through sophisticated cyber fraud techniques.

In a statement, the Ludhiana police said 132 suspects have been held so far, and recoveries from them include Rs 1.07 crore in cash, 98 laptops, 229 mobile phones, and 19 vehicles. (Photo Credit: Ludhiana police)

“A fake pop-up warning, purportedly from Microsoft Company, regarding an impending virus attack or security threat would appear on the computer screen of the victim. The pop-up also displayed a customer care number to be contacted by the victim. Simultaneously, the victim’s computer screen would become unresponsive or appear stuck due to the pop-up. When the victim contacted the displayed number, the call was redirected to the fraudsters through X-Lite Software, an internet-based dialer application used for routing inbound calls,” said the officer.

“Each location consisted of approximately 8-10 teams, with each team comprising around 6-7 members. Every team had designated ‘openers’ and ‘closers’. The ‘opener’ would receive the incoming call and persuade the victim to download remote access software such as UltraViewer, thereby enabling remote access to the victim’s computer system. Thereafter, the victim was made to run fake or dummy scans on the system. During the process, fabricated warning pop-ups displaying issues such as compromised email accounts, hacked bank accounts, child pornography alerts, and other false security threats would appear on the victim’s screen. The victims were then induced to open their email accounts, banking applications, and other confidential information on their systems. Through screen sharing and remote access, the confidential data became accessible to the fraudsters. Subsequently, the victim was falsely informed that his/her bank account had serious security issues and that the call would be transferred to the bank representative concerned,” added Sharma.

“The call was then handled by the ‘closer’, who impersonated a bank official and falsely advised the victim that the money in the account was unsafe. The victim was then induced to transfer or part with money through one or more of the following methods, such as cash pickup from doorstep, gold pickup from doorstep after purchasing gold, purchase and sharing of gift cards such as Amazon/Apple gift cards, or wire transfer of money into fake foreign accounts. The cheated amount was thereafter routed to India through multiple hawala channels, cryptocurrency transactions, and other illegal financial mechanisms,” said the police.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that each operator handled approximately 8-10 calls on average per day. The workers employed were being paid fixed salaries along with performance-based incentives. Further investigation is underway regarding digital evidence, money trail analysis, proceeds of crime, hawala transactions, cryptocurrency links, ownership and tenancy verification of premises used for operation of the call centres, and identification of other accused persons and facilitators connected with the racket, said the police.