4 held for duping foreign nationals in tech support scam

Suspects used to lure foreign nationals by advertising their tech support toll-free number online and through social media, police said

Noida: Four men were arrested on Tuesday from a Sector 76 high-rise in Noida by Cybercrime Branch police for being allegedly involved in duping foreign nationals on the pretext of providing fake tech support, said officials.

“On the pretext of help, the suspects used to get access to victims’ laptops through a screen-sharing app and black out the display with a technical glitch. Thereafter, they would convince their targets that the laptop was hacked and that all the banking credentials saved in it might be compromised,” the DCP said. (Representative photo)

The suspects used to lure foreigners by advertising their tech support toll-free number online and through social media in foreign, they added. “We received a tip-off through local intelligence that a gang from Noida was actively targeting Americans and European citizens by providing fake tech support through paid advertisements,” Shavya Goyal, DCP (cybercrime branch) told HT .

The suspects used to lure foreign nationals by advertising their tech support toll-free number online and through social media in foreign countries, they added.

“We received a tip-off through local intelligence that a gang from Noida was actively targeting Americans and European citizens by providing fake tech support through paid advertisements,” Shavya Goyal, deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (cybercrime branch) told HT .

“A team was tasked to trace the suspects. And, with the help of electronic surveillance, we arrested four suspects (between 24 to 27 years old, three from Delhi and one from Rajasthan), identified as a 26-year-old, a 25-year-old, and a 24-year-old, all residents of Delhi; and one 27-year-old, a resident of Rajasthan. They were nabbed from a Sector 76 high-rise in Noida,” the DCP said.

During the investigation, the suspects revealed that foreign nationals used to contact them after spotting their tech support toll-free number online and social media. “On the pretext of help, the suspects used to get access to victims’ laptops through a screen-sharing app and black out the display with a technical glitch. Thereafter, they would convince their targets that the laptop was hacked and that all the banking credentials saved in it might be compromised,” the DCP said.

“For their help to save bank credentials, the suspects used to charge between 350 to 2000 USD. If they found a victim with a high bank balance, the call was transferred to another person posing as a senior to dupe more money. The used to charge through cryptocurrency,” the officer added.

Officials said the suspects had been involved in the crime for the past two months, and their records are being checked to ascertain how many people were tricked by them.

During initial investigation, the suspects claimed that they learnt the modus operandi themselves, but based on their knowledge of cybercrime, it looks one of them might have been part of a similar gang.

A case of cheating and cheating by personation under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the IT Act was registered against them at the Cybercrime Branch police station, and further investigation is underway.