CBI busts key cybercrime rings under Interpol drive

NEW DELHI: The CBI has achieved major breakthroughs under Operation HAECHI-VI, an international crackdown launched by Interpol to combat cyber-enabled finan-cial and online exploitation crimes.

The operation targeted seven categories of offences, including cyber financial fraud, voice phishing, romance scams, sextortion, investment scams, money laundering linked to illegal online gambling, business email compromise, and e-commerce fraud.

The CBI’s International Operations Division, in collaboration with the FBI, the US Department of Justice, and German authorities, arrested eight offenders and identified 45 suspects linked to transnational cyber-enabled financial crimes and online sexual offences against minors. Investigators recovered USD 66,340 in cash and froze 30 bank accounts connected to these offences.

Acting on intelligence inputs from the FBI and US Department of Justice, the agency also arrested two individuals who had used social media platforms to target young American girls and coerce them into sending obscene material. The CBI also busted illegal call centres operating from New Delhi and Amritsar, which had been defrauding U.S. citizens by posing as technical support provid-ers.

In a similar action based on intelligence from German authorities, the agency raided a fake call centre in Siliguri, Darjeeling, that was scamming German nationals through online fraud schemes.

The CBI termed the operation a “significant milestone” in global efforts against transnational cybercrime, stressing the need for collective interna-tional cooperation to tackle such threats.