Those arrested include Sourabh Rana, the prime accused, and his alleged associates Indermohan Singh, Harneet Singh, and Jappandeep Singh.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four accused persons, including the “mastermind”, who were part of a syndicate that ran a tech-support fraud and extortion racket through call centres and offices across Punjab and Delhi. The group primarily targeted U.S. nationals, the agency said on Thursday (August 6, 2026).The CBI raided 10 locations across Punjab and Delhi, including a call centre operated from the premises of the main accused in Mohali in the intervening night of August 5 and 6, and arrested the accused. It seized communication devices, storage drives, cash, and details of cryptocurrency wallets.Those arrested include Sourabh Rana, the prime accused, and his alleged associates Indermohan Singh, Harneet Singh, and Jappandeep Singh. The agency alleged that they posed as representatives of Microsoft, financial institutions, and law enforcement agencies to cheat victims.In one case, in 2022, the syndicate allegedly extorted $4.40 lakh from a Florida resident by threatening her that her personal and financial information had been compromised and that illegal material had been planted on her computer. She was coerced into making multiple transactions into a Bitcoin ATM. The funds were routed to a specific wallet address for further transfer to the accounts controlled by the accused. Another case was reported in 2023, in which a New Jersey resident was misled into believing that unknown entities had gained access to her banking details. She deposited around $1.30 lakh into Bitcoin ATMs.Explaining the modus operandi, the CBI said the accused sent pop-ups to the computers of prospective targets, displaying bogus warnings about serious technical issues. The pop-ups carried fake Microsoft toll‑free numbers that directly connected victims to fraudulent call centres run by the syndicate. The victims were then persuaded to make payments for repairing their systems.The syndicate also allegedly extorted money through cryptocurrency ATMs by convincing the victims that they had been implicated in serious crimes such as child pornography. The proceeds were routed through multiple cryptocurrency wallets and later laundered via operators based in Delhi. Published - August 07, 2026 04:31 am IST
