Delhi Police bust cross border digital arrest scam, arrest three who used SIP for fraudSIP

New Delhi, February 5

The Delhi Police busted an international digital arrest scam and arrested the mastermind from Lucknow. The cybercriminals were operating from Cambodia, Thailand, and Canada.

The fraudsters used Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), an advanced technology that allows users to make phone calls and other communication over the internet, to mask their real identities. SIP is a signalling protocol used in VoIP communications, allowing the initiation, management, and termination of voice and video calls over the Internet.

The arrested individuals had diverse backgrounds. Ajaydeep (32), B.Tech and MBA graduate, Abhishek Srivastava (34) computer and CCTV hardware repairer and Ashutosh Bora (30), a graduate pursuing a law degree. 

The police seized over 1,000 SIP numbers and calling terminals from the accused. 

DCP (Outer North), Nidhin Valsan addressing the media said, “The fraudsters, posing as officials from the CBI and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), targetted a woman and claimed that her mobile number was involved in illegal activities. They threatened her with arrest unless she transferred money to accounts. The fraud stemmed from the complaint resulting into a cross border digital arrest scam”.

DCP Valsan further said, “The investigation revealed that SIP trunk services had been fraudulently acquired from Indian telecom providers Jio and Tata Tele Services. That would generate Indian landline numbers which would create an illusion of legitimacy for victims, said police. The police eventually tracked down the IPs of these calls to Cambodia, Thailand and Canada, which were routed to India through the SIP trunking services”.

He further added that the operation used over 5,000 SIP numbers to make more than 2 lakh calls pan-India…The accused utilised the SIP to facilitate illegal VoIP call termination, enabling cybercriminals to impersonate government officials

A complaint was received on December 19 through the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). The victim reported losing Rs 94,000 after receiving a call from a number that appeared to belong to a government agency. The fraudsters, posing as officials from the CBI and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), claimed that her mobile number was involved in illegal activities. They threatened her with arrest unless she transferred money to accounts. 

The officials added that Ajaydeep acquired SIP service from various providers and rented co-working offices to set up the system with Abhishek Srivastava. After setting up the SIP calling system, access was provided to Ashutosh who facilitated SIP service for cyber crooks abroad, involved in digital arrest, investment fraud, and other criminal conspiracy modules. He also revealed his association with Mohammad Ali, the mastermind behind the digital arrest racket. The key accused, Ashutosh Bora, facilitated SIP services for several international cyber gangs.