The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), under Operation Chakra-VI, made 60 special teams to conduct searches at over 80 locations across 16 states, as part of its crackdown on cybercrime networks facilitating “digital arrest” scams.
The searches were carried out at multiple locations in Delhi, Maharashtra, Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Assam, West Bengal, Manipur, Karnataka and Odisha, IANS reported.
This was done as part of the ongoing investigation to dismante organised network involved in over 200 cases of digital arrest fraud.
During the operation, two individuals from Chennai and Kolkata were taken into custody for their alleged involvement in the creation of shell companies, besides opening and operating mule bank accounts. The accounts were said to have been used to launder around ₹2 crore of suspected proceeds of crime.
On Thursday, officials informed that the central agency had uncovered a fake website having a URL deceptively similar to that of the official website of the Supreme Court of India.
Using the fake domain, the fraudsters allegedly deceived victims by creating a false impression of legal authority under the guise of digital arrest threats.
An FIR was registered in the matter after a complaint was received from the Registry of the Supreme Court.
With the help of advanced forensic tools and technical analysis, the CBI teams identified key components of the cybercriminal infrastructure. These were found to be operating from both within India and abroad.
During the investigation, it came to light that the accused were uploading forged and fabricated documents, such as fake court orders and documents resembling those issued by law enforcement agencies.