Ahmedabad: The Ahmedabad City Cyber Crime Branch has dismantled a sophisticated international cyber fraud network allegedly operating the so called ‘Boss Scam’, uncovering links spanning India, China, Pakistan and Hong Kong.
The operation led to the arrest of two key suspects from West Bengal. Police said the crackdown helped protect more than 10,000 compromised devices and potentially prevented financial losses running into several crores.
The investigation, carried out with technical support from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, revealed a complex digital infrastructure used to target businesses and individuals.
In the scam, fraudsters allegedly posed as senior corporate executives or Reserve Bank of India officials. Employees were sent malicious ZIP files through WhatsApp or email. Once the files were opened, malware enabled the attackers to compromise WhatsApp Web sessions. The criminals could then modify contact information and impersonate senior officials while directing finance teams to make urgent bank transfers.
Investigators examined nearly 4,500 SIM cards recovered during the operation and found connections to 251 complaints across 26 states. The cases included financial fraud, social media related crimes and large scale hacking activities.
The arrested suspects, identified as Imran Ali Piyada and Injamul, allegedly played an important role in maintaining the syndicate’s telecom infrastructure. Piyada, who worked as a point of sale agent for telecom operators, allegedly misused customer biometric information to activate fraudulent SIM cards.
Over a period of around five years, he is alleged to have generated more than 21,000 OTPs for e commerce and gaming platforms, along with nearly 900 WhatsApp activation OTPs. Police said these were sold through online channels for financial gain.
Injamul allegedly helped manage the fraudulent SIM cards and communication systems. Seven mobile phones and a router were recovered during the operation.
Technical analysis reportedly indicated that the malware originated from cybercrime networks in China, while call centres operating from Islamabad were allegedly involved in executing the fraud. Compromised financial transactions were reportedly routed through China based virtual private networks to conceal the attackers’ identities.
The investigation continues as authorities work to identify additional members and trace the wider financial and technical network behind the operation.
