Srinagar, Mar 19: Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) has busted a sophisticated international cyber fraud racket and arrested seven suspects from Srinagar, officials said on Thursday.
An official said CIK-CID received technical inputs about covert call centres engaged in fraudulent online activities targeting foreign and local nationals.
Specialised teams comprising technical experts and field operatives were constituted, which carried out surveillance and digital intelligence gathering across multiple locations. The teams identified a key operational hub at the Industrial Area in Rangreth here, he said.
Subsequently, coordinated raids were conducted at different locations in the city, leading to the arrest of seven suspects. A large quantity of digital and communication equipment, including 13 mobile phones, nine laptops, VoIP systems, SIM cards, networking devices and digital storage media, was seized.
The seized devices include multiple smartphones, laptops and an iPad, the official said.
He said the accused had set up an unregistered call centre using VoIP-based systems to generate international virtual numbers and mask their location through server routing and spoofing techniques.
“They posed as legitimate service providers and targeted victims through online phishing advertisements and fake websites. Once a user clicked on the advertisement, a toll-free number appeared, which was operated by the suspects,” he said.
The victims were allegedly duped into sharing banking and personal details, following which funds were transferred into various accounts, including mule accounts and cryptocurrency wallets.
No cash transactions were involved and the financial trail indicates transactions running into crores, the official said.
The seized material contains incriminating evidence indicating an organised and technologically advanced network, he added.
A case has been registered under relevant sections of law and further investigation is underway.(KNS)
