Police bust Cambodia-linked SIM box fraud ring

The Delhi Police’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations unit has dismantled a module of an international cybercrime syndicate with links to Cambodia and other Southeast Asian countries, arresting two men from East Delhi who helped foreign fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officials and trap victims in so-called “digital arrest” scams.

The arrests were made during Operation CyHawk 4.0, conducted on April 6 and 7, after investigators tracked an illegal SIM box setup to a premises in GD Colony, Mayur Vihar Phase III. The technology at the heart of the racket was a 32-slot active SIM box, a device that routes international VoIP calls into Indian mobile networks, allowing overseas fraudsters to reach victims on what appear to be ordinary local numbers.

To a victim receiving such a call, there is nothing to suggest the voice on the other end is sitting in a call centre in Southeast Asia. That deception was the entire point.

Once contact was made, fraudsters posed as officials from the Delhi Police, the CBI, or Customs. Victims were told that a fake FIR had been registered against them for money laundering, drug trafficking, or similar serious offences. The threat of imminent arrest was used to induce panic. Victims were then told that to “verify” their accounts and avoid arrest, they needed to transfer money into what the fraudsters described as RBI-mandated accounts. The money, once transferred, vanished into a network of mule accounts. The same network also ran fraudulent investment schemes, luring victims with promises of high returns before disappearing with the funds.

The accused, Vaibhav Raj, 29, and Anil Kumar, 28, were arrested following coordinated raids across Delhi-NCR. Their roles were distinct and complementary.

Vaibhav handled the technical infrastructure, including the SIM box setup, internet connectivity, and routing of calls.