India busts call centers scamming Japanese citizens, 6 arrested
NEW DELHI, INDIA — India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has dismantled two illegal call centers and arrested six individuals in a major crackdown on a tech support scam targeting Japanese citizens.
International collaboration unmasks cybercrime syndicate
The operation, conducted in collaboration with the Japan National Police Agency and Microsoft, uncovered a sophisticated fraud network that duped victims into transferring money under false pretenses while 19 locations were found and raided in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
As a result of cooperating, the authorities were able to capture six people—Ashu Singh, Kapil Ghakhar, Rohit Maurya, Shubham Jaiswal, Vivek Raj, and Adarsh Kumar—and take possession of digital evidence, gadgets, and writings associated with the case.
“This collaborative international engagement proved critical in identifying the perpetrators and tracing the operational structure of the syndicates, ultimately leading to the successful crackdown in India,” CBI said.
Syndicate members ran fake call centers pretending to provide honest customer service, persuading people their laptops were under attack by viruses.
The initial investigation showed that advanced social engineering techniques and technical subterfuge were used in the scam.
Tech support scams evolve, exploiting global victims
Law enforcement authorities claimed that those arrested operated an organized system, tricking Japanese people by creating fake call centers that frightened them about cyber threats.
The fact that Microsoft is involved in the investigation points to private companies’ role in dealing with and stopping these networks.
The evidence recovered included scripts and tools meant to trick and defraud many people. This action by the CBI shows that there are consequences for cybercriminals but also indicates a worrying spread of such scams.
Since scammers get better at their tactics, it’s important for law enforcement and technology groups to watch and help in protecting people worldwide.
