On July 7, 2025, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) executed a significant operation to dismantle a transnational cybercrime syndicate responsible for sophisticated tech support scams targeting individuals in Australia and the United Kingdom. This fraudulent scheme resulted in losses exceeding £390,000 ($525,000) in the UK alone.
The operation, part of the ongoing Operation Chakra V, involved coordinated searches at three locations in Noida, including a fully operational fraudulent call center situated within the Noida Special Economic Zone. This call center, known as FirstIdea, utilized advanced calling infrastructure and malicious scripts to maintain cross-border anonymity and systematically target victims. The CBI’s efforts led to the arrest of two key individuals, including a principal partner of FirstIdea.
The timing of the raids was strategically aligned with the time zones of the victims, enabling authorities to intercept live scam calls during the operation. The syndicate impersonated technical support staff from reputable multinational companies, notably Microsoft, deceiving foreign nationals into believing their devices were compromised. Victims were coerced into paying substantial sums to resolve non-existent technical issues.
This successful intervention was the culmination of an 18-month collaborative investigation involving the CBI, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Microsoft. The joint effort focused on identifying the organized crime group and dismantling the complex IT infrastructure they employed.
In the UK, over 100 individuals fell victim to this tech support scam. The perpetrators employed spoofed phone numbers and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology to route calls through multiple servers across various countries, complicating traceability. Victims were contacted by individuals offering to fix their computers for a fee, following deceptive pop-up messages indicating their devices were infected or hacked. In reality, the fraudsters posed as Microsoft employees, offering solutions to problems that did not exist.
This development highlights the persistent and evolving nature of tech support scams. Despite previous crackdowns, such fraudulent activities continue to proliferate. For instance, reports indicate that the number of scam centers in eastern Myanmar has been rapidly expanding, with at least 16 suspected sites documented and ongoing construction at eight others.
The CBI’s recent action underscores the critical importance of international cooperation in combating cybercrime. By dismantling such operations and apprehending key operatives, authorities aim to disrupt the networks that perpetrate these scams and protect potential victims from falling prey to similar fraudulent schemes.
