DEHRADUN/SHIMLA: Uttarakhand’s quiet towns and hill locations are increasingly being misused as safe hideouts by cyber fraudsters, even as the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has cracked down hard on transnational cyber crime networks operating across India and abroad.
In a major multinational offensive, the CBI launched Operation CyStrike on January 30, 2026, in coordination with the FBI (USA) and law enforcement agencies of the United Kingdom, Kuwait, Ireland and Singapore, targeting organised cyber-enabled financial crime networks.
As part of the operation, the CBI conducted coordinated searches at 35 locations across 10 states, including Uttarakhand, Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal. The raids led to the dismantling of multiple cyber fraud networks that were cheating victims in India and overseas by operating under fake online identities.
Global victims, Indian operations
According to the CBI, the accused were running sophisticated online scams targeting victims in the USA, UK, Kuwait, Ireland and Singapore, besides India. These fraudsters used pseudonymous identities, fake websites and forged documents to lure unsuspecting people into transferring money.
In one case, a key operative running a transnational cyber fraud network from New Delhi, primarily targeting US citizens, was arrested on the spot. Several laptops, mobile phones and hard disks containing incriminating digital evidence were seized.
Fake Kuwait job and visa scam busted
In another major breakthrough, the CBI busted a cyber fraud racket operating from New Delhi, Ghaziabad and Karnataka, which was running a fake website under the domain eservicemoi-kw.com. The accused posed as official facilitators of Kuwaiti e-Visas and overseas job appointments, cheating Indian nationals by promising jobs in leading Kuwait-based companies.
During the searches, investigators recovered fake Kuwaiti e-Visas, forged job appointment letters, digital devices and cash worth Rs 60 lakh from one of the accused.
UK, Ireland, Singapore networks dismantled
The CBI also dismantled cyber crime networks targeting victims in the UK, Ireland and Singapore. Mule bank accounts used to route illegal proceeds from foreign victims to the accused were identified and taken down, choking the financial lifelines of these gangs.
No names disclosed yet
The CBI has so far not disclosed the names of the accused, citing the ongoing nature of the investigation and international coordination involved in the case.
Alert for common citizens
Investigators say the case is a stark reminder of how job offers abroad, instant visas, lottery wins, online rewards and easy money schemes are being used to trap gullible citizens.
The CBI has advised people to:
Never trust unsolicited job or visa offers received through social media, emails or messaging apps
Verify overseas job offers only through authorised government portals and embassies
Avoid sharing personal documents, OTPs or banking details online
Be wary of websites mimicking official government portals
Operation CyStrike, led by the CBI in close coordination with INTERPOL and foreign agencies, marks a significant step in disrupting organised cyber crime networks operating from India, including from remote and less-policed regions.
Authorities warn that cyber fraudsters are constantly changing tactics—and vigilance by the public remains the strongest defence against falling into these digital traps.
