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After tracking the IP addresses to Pakistan, the central agencies have registered all these IP addresses in the 'suspect registry'.
A high-level probe by central agencies is learnt to have uncovered a Pakistani link in the Cambodia job scam that duped hundreds of Indians with fake employment offers, leading to their trafficking and exploitation abroad.
The scam came to light in 2024, when over 5,000 Indians were suspected to be trapped in Cambodia after being allegedly deceived with fake job offers and forced into cyber crime activities. Some of them have since been rescued and brought back to India.
“After returning from these scam compounds, a number of victims informed officials of central agencies that they were recruited by Pakistani agents,” said a source. During forensic examination, digital footprints, including IP logs from recruitment chats and calls, pointed to operatives in Pakistan, said the source.
“On the basis of their information, forensic analysis of such IP addresses were examined, and they have been traced to servers and handlers based in Pakistan, revealing a coordinated network that preyed on vulnerable job-seekers from places like Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Mumbai, Telangana and Kerala,” the source said.
According to the source, the issue was also discussed at the two-day “Anti-Terrorism Conference-2025” here in December.
“This is not just a cyber-fraud racket — it’s a targeted operation exploiting our youth,” said the source, adding that the central agencies, including the CBI and NIA, have widened the net.
After tracking the IP addresses to Pakistan, the central agencies have registered all these IP addresses in the ‘suspect registry’. The registry, which was created based on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and developed by Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), contains data of 1.4 million cyber criminals linked to financial fraud and various cyber crimes, which has been shared with all banks.
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Data shows that with the help of the suspect registry, 5,54,865 accounts in which fraudulent money was received have been frozen, 15,10,800 unique accounts have been identified, and Rs 7,980 crore has been saved after around 20 lakh fraudulent transactions were rejected.
An official said cyber scams targeting Indians are mainly run by Chinese operators from high-security compounds in Southeast Asia, where victims of human trafficking, including Indians, are put to work.
According to fresh data compiled by the I4C, Indians have lost over Rs 52,976 crore to various fraud and cheating cases over the past six years. “The Indian economy faces a loss of over Rs 1,000 crore every month to such crimes. Over 20,000 Indians are estimated to be working in these scam compounds situated in Southeast Asia. After pressure from many countries, especially the US, the business has started shifting to Dubai,” the official said.
“Many were lured via social media and messaging apps with promises of high-paying jobs in casinos and call centres, only to face forced labour, physical abuse, and organ trafficking threats upon arrival,” the official said.
Mahender Singh Manral is an Assistant Editor with the national bureau of The Indian Express. He is known for his impactful and breaking stories. He covers the Ministry of Home Affairs, Investigative Agencies, National Investigative Agency, Central Bureau of Investigation, Law Enforcement Agencies, Paramilitary Forces, and internal security. Prior to this, Manral had extensively reported on city-based crime stories along with that he also covered the anti-corruption branch of the Delhi government for a decade. He is known for his knack for News and a detailed understanding of stories. He also worked with Mail Today as a senior correspondent for eleven months. He has also worked with The Pioneer for two years where he was exclusively covering crime beat. During his initial days of the career he also worked with The Statesman newspaper in the national capital, where he was entrusted with beats like crime, education, and the Delhi Jal Board. A graduate in Mass Communication, Manral is always in search of stories that impact lives. ... Read More
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