Bengaluru, Oct 14 (IANS) In a breakthrough, Karnataka Police busted an international digital scam targeting US citizens and arrested 16 persons in connection with the case on Tuesday.

The accused were running a call centre under the name Cybits Solutions Pvt Ltd in HSR police station limits, Bengaluru, and carried out large-scale cyber fraud.

Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said, “It is a reverse digital arrest case, where citizens of the US, Canada, and other countries were subjected to digital arrest from Bengaluru.” Police conducted raids on two residences and seized 41 computer systems, 41 monitors, 40 CPUs, 41 computer mouse, 41 keyboards, 41 VGA cables, 82 power cables, 21 LAN cables, two attendance registers, four script notebooks, 25 mobile phones, ID cards, an EPABX device, a D-Link switch, and a router.

Among those arrested, eight are from Maharashtra, four from Meghalaya, and the rest from Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, and Gujarat.

According to police, on October 7, HSR Layout Police received a tip-off from a reliable source regarding the operations of Cybits Solutions and its cyber fraud activities. After gathering information, the HSR Layout Police Station officer registered a suo motu case.

Investigations revealed that 20 to 25 young men and women were recruited online for jobs at the fake call centre. They were trained to commit cyber fraud and were instructed to collect information about strangers online before contacting them over the phone.

Posing as officials from investigative agencies, they told victims that cases of narcotics smuggling and money laundering had been registered against them. Victims were then threatened and coerced into transferring money online under the pretext of receiving help.

The case was later transferred to the South East Division Cyber Crime, Economic Offences, and Narcotics (CEN) Police Station. The sleuths raided the premises and interrogated the accused. Investigations further revealed that job advertisements had been posted on social media platforms like LinkedIn and Work India to lure candidates from different states, offering both employment and accommodation.

The accused told employees that the company provided online services to clients in the US, Canada, and other countries. Staff were given residential facilities in HSR Layout and BTM Layout. After three weeks of training, telecallers, following company instructions, called victims claiming to represent the US Border Security Force, the US Postal Service, and the US Customs and Border Protection.

Using a live server provided by the company, the accused threatened citizens with fake arrest warrants and police IDs, accusing them of drug trafficking and money laundering. Victims were kept under “digital arrest” and forced to comply with demands, transferring money into company-controlled wallet accounts. All operations were carried out using custom software developed by the company.

Upon examining the seized computers, police found that Justpaste.it had been used to host digital arrest scripts, which were then deployed. Internet-based calls were made through various applications to intimidate and defraud US citizens.

The gang was busted by a team led by DCP (South East) Sarah Fathima and CEN ACP Govardhan Gopal.

–IANS

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