An international link appeared in a India Today’s recently exposed digital arrest scam racket Special Investigation Team through an undercover operation. The scam involved fraudsters contacting an India Today reporter, falsely claiming that a parcel containing 400 grams of drugs had been seized in his name, thereby trying to extort money from him.

An SIT investigation into the case revealed that these operations spanned several countries, with Internet Protocol Detail Record (IPDR) exposing fingerprints from Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.

Evidence showed that the swindled funds were channeled and withdrawn from Cambodia and Dubai, and Indian workers employed by private companies were involved in running these cross-border scams.

The scam operation lures Indian job seekers with dubious foreign job offers, later ensnaring them as digital agents or ‘digital slaves’ in fraudulent activities.

Multiple agencies are now working together to track down and dismantle the networks behind these digital arrest scams.

India Today’s investigative team has uncovered a digital arrest scam targets unsuspecting individuals by falsely implicating them in drug and money laundering cases. The operation began when a fake DHL representative contacted an India Today reporter, claiming that a package in his name containing illegal drugs had been seized in Mumbai.

Through intimidation and threats, the scam involved a series of bogus calls, including from an alleged police officer and Enforcement Directorate agents, demanding sensitive information and a R10 million “guarantee”.