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CBI Busts Cyber Gang Posing as Microsoft Staff to Dup US Seniors via Bitcoin
M
Moneycontrol•07-10-2026, 12:53
CBI Busts Cyber Gang Posing as Microsoft Staff to Dup US Seniors via Bitcoin
- •The CBI uncovered an international cyber fraud syndicate operating from Delhi and Punjab that targeted US senior citizens using fake tech-support calls.
- •Scammers posed as Microsoft employees, claiming victims computers were hacked and tricking them into depositing cash into Bitcoin ATMs.
- •Investigators tracked the extorted funds through multiple crypto wallets, linking mastermind Saurabh Rana to over $6.5 million in Bitcoin.
- •The CBI arrested Rana and two co-accused during raids across Delhi, Ludhiana, and Mohali, seizing around 30 digital devices.
- •A Delhi court rejected Rana's bail plea, citing transnational implications and evidence revealing the syndicate's modus operandi.
Key Questions Answered
The syndicate targeted elderly individuals in the US by making fake tech-support calls and sending emails posing as Microsoft employees, falsely claiming their computers and bank accounts were compromised before instructing them to deposit cash into Bitcoin ATMs.
Saurabh Rana was arrested in August alongside co-accused individuals after the Central Bureau of Investigation registered an FIR, with investigators identifying him as the alleged mastermind of the operation.
The extorted money was converted into cryptocurrency, transferred through multiple crypto wallets, consolidated into accounts controlled by the accused such as Saurabh Rana's Binance account, and subsequently routed into the Indian banking system.
