In a significant move against cyber-enabled financial crimes, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four individuals and dismantled two illicit call centers involved in a sophisticated transnational tech support scam targeting Japanese citizens. This operation, known as Operation Chakra V, was conducted on May 28, 2025, across 19 locations in Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
The Modus Operandi of the Scam
The cybercriminal syndicates operated call centers designed to impersonate legitimate customer service centers of multinational corporations, including Microsoft. They employed advanced social engineering techniques to deceive victims into believing their electronic devices were compromised. Under this pretext, victims were coerced into transferring funds into mule accounts controlled by the scammers.
Collaborative Efforts in the Crackdown
The success of this operation was largely due to the collaborative efforts between the CBI, the National Police Agency of Japan, and Microsoft. This partnership enabled authorities to track down the perpetrators and understand the operational structure of the scam. During the raids, valuable evidence such as computers, storage devices, digital video recorders, and phones were seized, providing further insights into the syndicate’s activities.
Microsoft’s Role and Insights
Steven Masada from Microsoft highlighted the growing connectivity among cybercriminals facilitated by cybercrime-as-a-service models. He emphasized the need for a comprehensive approach and international cooperation to effectively address such cybercrimes. Microsoft’s collaboration with the Japan Cybercrime Control Center (JC3) has been instrumental in uncovering these fraudulent activities, leading to the takedown of approximately 66,000 malicious domains and URLs globally since May 2024.
The Use of Advanced Technologies by Cybercriminals
The cybercriminals behind this scam leveraged generative AI to scale their operations. This included identifying potential victims, automating the creation of malicious pop-up windows, and performing language translations to target Japanese victims. This highlights the increasing sophistication of cybercriminal tactics and underscores the importance of proactive global collaboration to protect potential victims.
Broader Implications and Recent Developments
This crackdown comes in the wake of other significant cybersecurity incidents. Notably, a data breach at Coinbase was linked to India-based customer support representatives who were bribed to steal customer data. This breach was first identified in January 2025, leading to the termination of the involved employees and the contract with the service provider.
Conclusion
The dismantling of these fraudulent call centers marks a significant step in the fight against transnational cybercrimes. It underscores the importance of international collaboration and proactive measures in combating the evolving tactics of cybercriminals. As cyber threats continue to grow in complexity, such coordinated efforts are essential to safeguard individuals and organizations worldwide.
