Srinagar: An international cyber fraud racket has been busted in Jammu and Kashmir. According to reports, the intelligence wing of the Jammu and Kashmir Police has arrested seven individuals on charges of operating an organized cybercrime syndicate.
These individuals are accused of targeting both foreign and Indian citizens and engaging in financial transactions worth crores of rupees. An official made this sensational revelation.
The concerned official handling the case stated that the Police’s Counter Intelligence Kashmir (CIK) and the Criminal Investigation Department formed special teams based on technical and credible intelligence regarding the operations of covert call centers involved in fraudulent online activities. During systematic surveillance across multiple locations, digital intelligence gathering, and verification processes, they identified a major operational hub within the industrial area of ​​Rangreth, located on the outskirts of Srinagar.
An official statement confirmed that seven suspects were arrested on the spot during the raid. A large quantity of digital and communication equipment—including 13 mobile phones, 9 laptops, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) systems, SIM cards, networking devices, and digital storage media—was seized from their possession. A case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections pertaining to fraud, criminal conspiracy, and the Information Technology Act.
The official added that the seized items contain substantial evidence clearly pointing to a highly organized and technologically advanced criminal setup. According to preliminary investigations, the accused were part of a large, well-coordinated cybercrime syndicate with links extending beyond the borders of Jammu and Kashmir.
One arm of this fraudulent network was specifically designed to target individuals in countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. According to the official, these criminals operated using international communication-masking technologies. They employed a variety of tactics to defraud people and utilized modern digital and cryptocurrency channels to siphon off funds. The accused had established a clandestine, unregistered call center infrastructure utilizing VoIP-based systems, enabling them to defraud individuals through international virtual numbers. An official stated that the perpetrators concealed their actual locations using server routing and spoofing techniques, thereby appearing to unsuspecting victims as legitimate service providers.
According to the official, these criminals generated international calls that were routed through the call center. This method was employed to target victims by utilizing a fraudulent Yahoo Mail website and Google advertisements.
According to the CIK, this modus operandi involves contacting individuals across multiple countries through organized call operations and online phishing advertisements. It further stated, “When a victim clicked on an advertisement, a toll-free number would appear on their screen.”
This toll-free number was operated by the suspects, who would then deceive unsuspecting individuals into divulging their banking and other personal details. That marked the beginning of the fraudulent scheme. The CIK stated that they are currently working to identify the victims and to uncover the broader network, including financial flows and both national and international linkages.
