The Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police dismantled a cybercrime syndicate in a six-month operation. They arrested 18 people allegedly involved in a Rs 2.6-crore fraud.
Police Arrest Call Centre Employees
The aides of the alleged scammers were also arrested; they were call centre employees in Gurgaon. The investigation revealed that they leaked confidential details of credit card holders.
Where Did The Scammers Operate From?
The operational hub, according to the FIR, was a call centre operating from Kakrola in West Delhi. To deceive credit card holders into revealing sensitive information, the accused posed as bank officials, including OTP's and CVVs. High-value electronic gift cards were purchased through this data, and they were later redeemed for booking domestic flight tickets.
How Did Fraudsters Gain Victims' Trust?
According to the Times of India, Fraudsters used deceptive phrases like "one-time permission" and "customer value verification code" to gain the victims' trust and extract confidential information. They posed as SBI customer care executives, according to the DCP of the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit.
Structured Syndicate
For unauthorised online transactions, the details were misused in real time. Covering every stage of the cybercrime chain, the syndicate had a clearly defined structure: callers, SIM card providers, insider data sources, money handlers and masterminds.
Who Were The Accused?
According to the police, the masterminds are Ankit Rathi, Waseem and Vishal Bhardwaj. They orchestrated the scam while insiders from a call centre in Gurgaon, Vishesh Lahori alias Paji and Durgesh Dhakad, leaked confidential customer data. Investigators said that the operational team, comprising Rahul Vishwakarma, Pawan Bisht, Kailash Purohit alias Kabir, Himanshu Chugh alias Babu and Ravin Saini, allegedly executed the phishing calls. Investigators also revealed that Akilesh Lakhotia and Harsh Chauhan dealt with the conversion of stolen funds through crypto (USDT) and cash via resale of gift cards. For providing SIM cards, Shivam Sehrawat was allegedly responsible.
