Narayan AmmachchiPolice in the Indian city of Bangalore have arrested 16 individuals accused of running a fake call center that allegedly defrauded American and Canadian citizens through a sophisticated cyber scam known as a “digital arrest.”
According to investigators, the operation posed as Cybits Solutions Pvt. Ltd, a non-existent company, and functioned out of a residential property in the city.
Most of the employees were reportedly recruited from remote villages in India’s northeastern states and trained in social engineering and impersonation techniques.
After gathering personal data of potential victims online, the suspects allegedly posed as officials from U.S. law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
They would accuse victims of crimes like drug trafficking or money laundering, present fabricated arrest warrants and fake IDs, and then coerce them into transferring money to avoid arrest.
It is not clear whether they have been successful in extracting money from their victims, nor is it clear how the police came to know about their operations.
Police said an inspection of seized computer systems revealed that the group used the website Justpaste.it to upload and access “digital arrest scripts,” and relied on various internet calling apps to target U.S. citizens.
The accused are now facing multiple cybercrime and fraud charges as authorities continue to trace the extent of their operations and identify possible overseas victims.
Add comment