Ahmedabad Police Bust Cybercrime Network with China, Pakistan Links; 2 Held

Ahmedabad: The city Cybercrime Branch has uncovered an alleged cyber fraud network with links spanning China, Pakistan, India and Hong Kong, and arrested two suspects from West Bengal.

Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlaut said the investigation found that malware allegedly developed by a Chinese cyber gang was being used to target Indian victims through a call centre operating from Islamabad. Investigators also found that bank accounts linked to the fraud were accessed using a China-based VPN service.

The arrested accused have been identified as Imran Ali Piyada and Injamul Molla, both BA graduates. Imran was working as a Point of Sale (POS) agent for Airtel, Jio, Vi and BSNL.

21,000 OTPs allegedly sold

According to DCP Lavina Sinha, Imran allegedly obtained SIM cards in customers’ names and activated numbers on dummy SIMs without their knowledge before supplying them to cyber criminals.

Investigators suspect that over five years, he sold around 21,000 OTPs linked to e-commerce and gaming applications, allegedly earning more than Rs 21 lakh. He also allegedly sold around 900 WhatsApp activation OTPs for about Rs 2.25 lakh.

Injamul allegedly coordinated with cyber criminals and helped arrange dummy SIMs, mobile numbers and WhatsApp accounts.

‘Boss Scam’ used to target company executives

The investigation also uncovered an alleged ‘Boss Scam’, in which fraudsters impersonated senior RBI or government officials and sent malicious ZIP files to CEOs, directors and employees through WhatsApp or email.

Once opened, the malware allegedly allowed the accused to hijack WhatsApp sessions. They would then replace the genuine CEO’s mobile number with their own, use the CEO’s photograph and instruct employees to urgently transfer money.

Police said technical analysis has allegedly confirmed the use of a four-country digital infrastructure to conceal the identities and locations of the fraudsters.

Over 10,000 devices secured

Authorities said more than 10,000 infected devices were secured during the coordinated operation, potentially preventing losses running into crores of rupees.

The probe has also highlighted the growing Cybercrime-as-a-Service (CaaS) ecosystem, with investigators finding online groups, including WhatsApp-based networks, allegedly involved in buying and selling OTPs and other digital resources. DeshGujarat