New Delhi: Have you been inundated with messages that say “Earn Rs 10,000 daily from the comfort of your home”, or offers for “part-time jobs”? If so, exercise caution.
In the past year, numerous unsuspecting individuals have fallen victim to these fraudulent offers, which are currently under investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Operating through numerous WhatsApp numbers, scamsters sitting in India and abroad allegedly lure individuals with false promises of employment and defraud them of money in various ways. The money made is then allegedly routed through shell companies and laundered, ThePrint has learnt.
According to the CBI, this represents one of the biggest “cyber-enabled money-laundering frauds” in India.
This week, the agency conducted raids at various locations across India as part of “Operation Chakra 2”, designed to “combat and dismantle organised cyber-enabled financial crimes”.
An FIR in connection with the scam was registered last year with the CBI after it received information about a significant number of innocent citizens being duped of money with promises of investment and part-time job opportunities.
As the CBI delved deeper, it uncovered a highly intricate racket involving multiple layers and advanced technology.
“The scale of this operation is very big. These fraudsters have cheated hundreds of gullible persons by contacting them through various WhatsApp numbers. Further, various bank accounts and UPIs have been used by the fraudsters to collect money from a large number of victims in the name of investment and part time jobs,” a CBI source said.
Moreover, various shell companies have been used to facilitate siphoning off money in various bank accounts and foreign-based crypto wallets, which are now under probe, the source said.
According to the source, most of these shell companies also have “Chinese links”, that are under investigation.
Cyber criminals use “Google advertisements, bulk SMS, SIM Box-based SMS, cloud services, fintech companies and API” for perpetuating these frauds, the source added.
The CBI also conducted a nationwide sweep at 72 locations in connection with two cases involving individuals who allegedly masqueraded as technical support representatives for tech giants Microsoft and Amazon to defraud foreign nationals.
Searches were also carried out in three other cases related to a “cryptocurrency fraud” involving companies having Chinese links,
Operation Chakra was conducted in collaboration with national and international agencies, including the US’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), CBI sources said.
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A lucrative message, a link
So how does the fraud work? According to CBI sources, victims are first approached via Google, Facebook advertisements, Telegram app and even through SMSes, with messages offering them jobs to make quick money.
The messages that are sent to the public include: “Dear Sir Amazon urgently recruiting for a part time job, you can earn 3000-10000 Rs. Every day”, “Dear I am a HR Manager. You are selected for Part/Full time Job, now you can (earn) up to Rs 20000/Day. Apply by clicking on the link”.
Every such SMS has a WhatsApp link which, once clicked, directly prompts for a chat.
The person in the chat then starts a conversation with the victim and then eventually sends an investment website link.
According to a second source in the CBI, the person on the chat tells the victim that he or she will have to invest some money and will get a high return instantly. In some cases, the victims are also given tasks like typing a document or emails. A mandatory condition for doing a task, however, is to first load money in a UPI wallet to prove your credentials.
According to the source, to load this money, there are multiple payment gateways that are unauthorised, provided by the site.
Many of these payment gateways, sources said, are not authorised to operate in India and all these payments are made through UPI using internet links.
“Deposit of funds (ICICI Bank/RazorPay/BharatPe, etc) is taken via UPI, promising to double money or earn high commissions. From the first layer bank account, money is transferred to other bank accounts,” the source said. “From an intermediate account, money is then bifurcated in multiple sources such as cryptocurrency, bullion, payout accounts.”
An international racket
The majority of websites involved in the fraud are registered with the domain “xyz” or “wixsite”, the sources said.
“Possible reason for .xyz and .wixsite domain is due to very cheap rates of domain,” the second source said.
Moreover, the numbers that are used to send messages on WhatsApp, Telegram or links via other platforms are based out of various locations, sources said.
Some of the Indian numbers active on WhatsApp have been running without the knowledge of the SIM owner, according to the sources.
The sources further explained that a call centre works from 10 am to 6 pm and is tasked with interacting with the victim and communicating over WhatsApp numbers from several places.
“These fraudsters have an organised chat sequence for communicating with the victims wherein they greet the person and explain the process of investment. It is observed that many Indian and foreign mobile numbers are used,” the second CBI source said.
“These people do not know Hindi. All communications are primarily in the English language. Many times, they use Google translate to communicate with victims,” the source said.
Payment gateways ‘created & used’ by foreign nationals
According to the CBI sources, various payment gateways that are created and operated by foreign nationals were found to be used to accept the investments made by the victims.
“These payment gateways accept money via UPI and also have facilities for transaction reconciliation. UPI addresses are used to create layering behind RazorPay, BharatPe, etc, thereby facilitating end of day settlement,” the first source said.
Payouts, the source added, are made to earn the confidence of victims.
“Fintech companies like Razor Pay, Ease Buzz, PayTM, Speedy Pay, Instant Pay, Cash Free etc, are used for payouts. Shell companies and rented companies with Ministry of Corporate Affairs? registration certificates are used to avail services for payouts. Many of these fintech companies are not recognised and are not directly regulated by the Reserve Bank of India,” the source said.
Investigation has also revealed that funds received in primary accounts through several victims are siphoned into various other accounts located across India, the source said.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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