Fake officials, Sim boxes: Chandigarh cops bust cybercrime racket, 10 arrested

The Chandigarh Police have busted a major digital arrest scam and fake policy fraud ring, arresting 10 individuals. Police said the gang was operating from within and outside the country, targeting people in the name of providing money or giving jobs. Police also uncovered the use of 'Sim boxes' by the gang.

Talking to India Today, SP Geetanjali said, "Youngsters are trapped in these gangs on the pretext of some money or a job. We are probing the total number of frauds by this gang and where they all used Sim cards to cheat people."

A total of 10 people have been caught as they were involved in a big fraud case in 2023, she said.

CASE BACKGROUND

The case came to light when a woman filed a complaint on July 11, 2023, stating that she received a WhatsApp call from someone claiming to be an ICICI Bank official, asking for her Aadhaar card and passbook details.

Later, a fake CBI officer on a video call coerced her into transferring Rs 1.01 lakh under the guise of 'safe custody.'

MODUS OPERANDI

As per the police, the perpetrators initiated calls from abroad.

They impersonated officials from TRAI, CBI, FedEx, etc. They also used 'Sim boxes' to convey international calls to local calls. The targeted people were shown a fake police station setup on video calls.

The gang intimidated people by claiming policy expirations or other pretexts. They coerced them into transferring money under the guise of 'safe custody' or 'anti-money laundering', according to the Chandigarh Police.

The 10 arrested accused are: Parvez Chauhan, 33, Shubham Mehra, 25, Suhail Akhtar, 35, Krishna Sah, 21, Vijay Kumar, 22, Vikas Kumar, 22, Ajit Kumar, 22, Vipin Kumar, 22, Saroj Kumar, 19 and Abhishek Kumar, 19.

The Chandigarh police seized six 'Sim boxes', one Wi-Fi broadband router, 400 Sim cards, 11 mobile phones, one laptop and two modems from the accused.

The investigation revealed that foreign gangs lured young Indians via Facebook and Telegram to operate 'Sim boxes, paying them Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 per month.

INVESTIGATION AND ARRESTS

Through technical surveillance and analysis of call detail records and customer acquisition forms, the police identified the mobile number used for the scam, which was registered under the name of Vijay Kumar.

The investigation revealed the roles of Vijay Kumar and his associates, Krishna and Shubham Mehra. Vijay Kumar disclosed that he was asked by Krishna to activate the SIM.

During interrogation, the police uncovered the use of 'Sim boxes,' devices that can operate multiple Sim cards simultaneously, allowing the gang to convert international calls to local calls. This enabled the perpetrators to misuse India's telecom infrastructure to deceive people.

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