Chandigarh Police Bust ₹1 Crore Digital Arrest Scam Targeting Elderly Woman
Chandigarh, August 2: The UT Cyber Cell in Chandigarh has exposed a nationwide cyber fraud racket that duped an elderly woman of ₹1.01 crore using a fake “digital arrest” tactic. In a well-coordinated operation, 10 individuals were arrested from Meerut, Ludhiana, and Amritsar.
The accused used sophisticated SIM box technology, sourced from China, to convert VoIP calls into local mobile calls—hiding their international origin. Police recovered ₹36 lakh of the stolen amount, which will be returned to the victim after court proceedings.
Victim Tricked by Fake CBI Officer in WhatsApp Video Call
The victim, 60-year-old Manjeet Kaur of Sector 33, received a voice call followed by a WhatsApp video call on July 11, 2025. The caller posed as a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officer named “Sunil”. He falsely claimed that her Aadhaar-linked mobile number and ICICI bank account were involved in a money laundering investigation.
To gain her trust, he shared forged documents on WhatsApp, including fake bank passbooks and government seals. Terrified by the legal threats, Kaur transferred ₹1.01 crore into several bank accounts provided by the scammers.
Once her complaint was filed, the cyber cell tracked the fraud trail to multiple cities using IMEI and KYC-linked mobile data.
SIM Boxes, Crypto Payments and a Chain of Middlemen
Police traced the number used in the call to Ludhiana. It was linked to over 180 SIM activations, many from Meerut and Hapur. On July 24, officers raided a location in Meerut and arrested Parvez Chauhan. He admitted to operating a SIM box and earning 50 USDT (a cryptocurrency) per day for routing calls for foreign handlers based in Taiwan, China, Malaysia, and Cambodia.
Further arrests revealed a network of POS operators, SIM traders, and technical handlers:
- Vijay Kumar Shah (Ludhiana): Provided POS ID for illegal SIM activations.
- Krishna Shah (Nepalese origin): Used single KYC to activate dual SIMs.
- Akash Kumar: Sold SIMs to Suhail Akhtar.
- Suhail Akhtar: Supplied to Shubham Mehra in Amritsar.
- Shubham Mehra: Operated Dinstar SIM boxes, recruited via Facebook ads, paid ₹25,000 in cash.
- Ajit Kumar: Source of 180 activated SIMs, linked to POS agents Saroj Kumar and Abhishek Kumar.
- Vipin Kumar: Funded the operation.
Police recovered 480 SIM cards, six SIM boxes, 14 mobile phones, routers, modems, and laptops.
Massive VoIP Fraud with Foreign Links
Superintendent of Police (Cyber) Geetanjali Khandelwal stated that each SIM box can generate over 2,00,000 IVR (interactive voice response) calls daily. These boxes mimic local mobile networks, making it hard for telecom providers to detect them.
From Parvez in Meerut, police recovered:
- 1 SIM box
- 70–80 SIM cards
- 3 mobile phones
- 1 Wi-Fi router
From Shubham in Amritsar, they seized:
- 6 SIM boxes
- Around 400 SIM cards
- 11 mobile phones
- 1 laptop
- 2 modems
- 1 router
Police confirmed that international handlers remotely operated this call network from abroad. The calls were made to deceive Indians into transferring money under the guise of official investigations or threats.
All accused have been remanded to police custody and are being interrogated further.