Police in Madhya Pradesh's Panna have busted a cyber fraud racket operating from Thailand and Cambodia, and arrested two Indians who were allegedly part of the gang and have been accused of cheating a woman of Rs 14 lakh by threatening her with 'digital arrest'.
The arrested individuals - Rishabh Hasurkar, alias Rishikesh, and his driver, Suresh - were arrested in Mumbai. The police said both maintained contact with the gang via Telegram and were working on instructions from a 'boss' based in the two Southeast Asian nations.
The fraudsters would make VoIP, or internet, calls disguised as police or CBI officers and claiming their target's identity had been 'misused' or they were linked to some 'illegal activity'.
Most people targeted this way panicked after being placed under 'digital arrest' - which does not exist under Indian law - and transferred large sums of money to wriggle free.
The key to this deception is a banned device - a SIM box.
A SIM box is basically a device that makes VoIP calls - used by 'digital arrest' fraudsters - from Thailand, Cambodia, or anywhere else look like they are coming from an Indian mobile number.
This makes the deception all the more convincing.
READ | 'Digital Arrest': People Losing Crores To Scammers. How To Be Safe
The cops recovered 12 SIM boxes from Rishikesh's apartment, as well as over 1,700 Bharti Airtel SIM cards,19 mobile phones, four routers, three laptops, and ATM cards and cheque books.
Foreign currency - baht and riel - and multiple passports were also recovered.
The case came to light after the woman who lost Rs 14 lakh lodged a complaint.
She said she received a call about 'suspicious activity in her bank account'. Fearing arrest, she transferred the money as instructed. However, after realising she was cheated, she called the cops.
READ | Bengaluru Couple Loses Rs 4.79 Crore To 'Digital Arrest' Scamster
"We found the accused had a large setup in Mumbai with three flats... one was being used as a call centre. The SIM boxes were used to route international scam calls through Indian numbers," Panna Superintendent of Police Sai Krishna Thota told reporters.
Further investigation revealed Rishikesh created documents for multiple shell companies and acquired hundreds of SIM cards under the names of fictitious employees.
He then travelled abroad to deliver these cards to the gang.
Panna cops have, meanwhile, roped in the State Cyber Cell and federal agencies to track down gang members based overseas. "We're identifying the full list of accused. Exposure of this gang will help us stop cybercrimes and trace hidden players," P Nagvanshi, State Cyber Cell SP, said.
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