The government has brought back 549 Indian nationals lured abroad with fake job offers and forced into cybercrime operations in Southeast Asia. Investigations have revealed that 65 are from Uttar Pradesh, 61 from Maharashtra, 57 from Gujarat and 48 from Punjab. Multiple agencies, including the CBI, have questioned all of them. Using military aircraft, the rescued individuals were brought home in two batches, 266 on Monday and 283 on Tuesday. Many had been trafficked to scam centres in countries such as Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. After landing at the Hindon airbase, they were taken to the CBI Academy in Ghaziabad, where senior officers from the CBI, NIA, and state police of their respective states questioned them.

According to data collected by the CBI after reviewing documents, most of those brought back were from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Punjab. The other states with returnees include Karnataka (34), Tamil Nadu (33), Rajasthan (29), Haryana (26), Telangana (23), West Bengal (20), Andhra Pradesh (19), Uttarakhand (18), Bihar and New Delhi (16 each), Jammu and Kashmir (14), Kerala (11), Jharkhand (6), and Himachal Pradesh (5). Authorities are still verifying documents to determine the home states of the remaining individuals.

During questioning, investigators noticed a typical pattern in how these individuals were fooled. They all reported being contacted by a placement agency that promised them well-paying data entry jobs, leading them into the trap.

“They accepted the offer letter but got shocked after reaching the place where they were forced to commit online fraud by their employers. Now, after their questioning, the concerned state police have been asked to take legal action against the concerned alleged placement agency and travel agent for duping them,” as per the source. “No decision has been taken yet to take legal action against these people.”

Data from the National Cyber Reporting Platform (NCRP) under the Ministry of Home Affairs reveals a sharp rise in financial fraud cases over the years. Fraudsters swindled Rs 551 crore in 2021, Rs 2,306 crore in 2022, and Rs 7,496 crore in 2023. The number of complaints also surged, with 1,37,254 cases reported in 2021, 5,15,083 in 2022, 11,31,649 in 2023, and 17,10,505 complaints recorded last year.

According to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), a division under the Home Ministry, nearly 45% of cybercrimes targeting India originate from Southeast Asia, particularly Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos PDR. In a written response to the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar stated that the Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System was launched in 2021 under I4C to allow immediate reporting of financial frauds and prevent funds from being siphoned off. So far, the system has helped save over Rs 4,386 crore across more than 13.36 lakh complaints, he added.

“I4C proactively identified and blocked more than 3,962 Skype IDs and 83,668 WhatsApp accounts used for Digital Arrest. Till February 28 this year, more than 7.81 lakhs SIM cards and 2,08,469 IMEIs, as reported by Police authorities, have been blocked by the Centre,” the minister stated.

A year ago, on March 28 2024, The Indian Express published a report stating that over 5,000 Indians are believed to be trapped in Cambodia and forced to engage in cyber fraud.