‘Boss Scam’ With China-Pakistan Links Busted In Gujarat; Over 10,000 Devices Secured
Ahmedabad: Gujarat Police have uncovered a sophisticated international cybercrime network allegedly running the notorious “Boss Scam”, exposing how fraudsters used compromised devices, fake identities and overseas digital infrastructure to target businesses and ordinary citizens.
The Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime Branch arrested two alleged key operatives from West Bengal during the operation, which was carried out under the supervision of Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gehlot and senior officers.
According to police, technical analysis conducted in coordination with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre revealed a sprawling network with links across China, Pakistan, Hong Kong and India.
Authorities said the operation helped secure more than 10,000 compromised devices and potentially prevented financial losses running into several crores of rupees.
How The Scam Worked
Investigators said the fraudsters typically posed as senior corporate executives or officials from the Reserve Bank of India. Employees were allegedly sent malicious ZIP files through WhatsApp or email. Once the files were opened, the malware could compromise WhatsApp Web sessions and give criminals access to business communications.
The accused would then allegedly change contact details and impersonate company executives before directing finance employees to urgently transfer money to accounts controlled by the fraud network.
The investigation became even bigger when police examined nearly 4,500 SIM cards recovered during the operation. According to officials, the cards were linked to 251 formal complaints from 26 states involving financial fraud, social media offences and hacking-related crimes.
Local Operatives, International Network
Police identified the arrested suspects as Imran Ali Piyada and Injamul, who allegedly acted as an important link between the international syndicate and its Indian telecom infrastructure.
Investigators allege that Imran, who worked as a point-of-sale agent for telecom companies, misused customers’ biometric information to activate dummy SIM cards. Over a period of around five years, he allegedly generated more than 21,000 OTPs for e-commerce and gaming platforms, along with around 900 OTPs for WhatsApp activations.
Police said these OTPs were allegedly sold online for financial gain, generating lakhs of rupees.
Injamul allegedly worked alongside him, helping manage the fraudulent SIM cards and communication channels used by the network.
During the operation, police seized seven mobile phones and a router as part of the investigation.
China-Pakistan Connection Under Scanner
Technical evidence gathered by investigators allegedly points to an international setup behind the scam. Police said the malware was linked to cybercriminal groups operating from China, while call centres in Islamabad were allegedly used to coordinate the fraud.
Investigators further alleged that compromised banking transactions were routed through China-based virtual private networks to make it harder for authorities to trace the criminals.
The case highlights how cybercriminal networks can combine local telecom resources with international digital infrastructure to target victims across multiple states.
With thousands of devices and thousands of SIM cards coming under scrutiny, investigators are now working to identify additional members of the network and determine the full extent of the financial damage caused by the syndicate.
News Source : Information for this article was gathered from a variety of reliable news outlets.
