CBI busts fake call centre, one held

New Delhi: The CBI has arrested an operative of a transnational cybercrime syndicate that allegedly ran a tech support scam targeting citizens of the UK and Australia, officials said Tuesday.

Nishant Walia, partner at FirstIdea, was arrested in connection with a transnational cybercrime syndicate that allegedly ran a tech support scam targeting citizens of the UK and Australia, officials said Tuesday.

The arrest of Nishant Walia, partner at FirstIdea, was part of the agency’s ongoing Operation Chakra V against cyber criminals masquerading as technical support representatives of renowned multinational firms, including Microsoft targeting citizens of the UK and Australia.

In its crackdown, the CBI raided three premises in Noida on Monday including at a fully functional fraudulent call centre operating from the Special Economic Zone where Walia was arrested.

Following the registration of the case, the CBI closely worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), and Microsoft Corporation to trace the syndicate’s operations and identify its key actors.

“The operation was precisely synchronised with the time zones of the intended victims, allowing investigators to intercept live scam calls during the raid,” a CBI spokesperson said in a statement.