The CBI’s Operation Chakra-5 marks one of the most coordinated cybercrime crackdowns in India this year. Conducted across eight states Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu—the operation zeroed in on 38 Point of Sale (PoS) agents linked to telecom companies.
These agents, CBI alleges, were working hand-in-glove with cybercriminals and possibly complicit telecom officials, facilitating the issuance of fraudulent SIM cards using manipulated or duplicate KYC documents. The illegal SIMs were not mere identity theft tools—they became the digital lifeblood of a wide range of cybercrimes.
During the raids at 42 different premises, officials seized mobile phones, forged KYC documents, electronic devices, and sensitive evidence that point to a thriving parallel system of illegal identity creation and data misuse.
The Tools of Digital Crime: SIMs for Scams and Schemes
According to CBI’s preliminary findings, the illegally issued SIM cards were central to digital arrest scams, fake advertisements, UPI frauds, impersonation crimes, and investment scams. These frauds typically involve scammers impersonating law enforcement or regulatory officials, threatening victims with fake legal notices, and coercing them into transferring money—often using the fake SIMs to mask identities and traceability.
The agency believes these SIMs enabled cross-border coordination, encrypted app use, and layered communication networks, making it difficult for law enforcement to trace the perpetrators. In some cases, the same mobile numbers were linked to multiple financial frauds across different states.
CBI also emphasized that some PoS agents had been circumventing mandatory KYC protocols, issuing SIMs against fictitious identities and selling them to intermediaries for cash.
Government’s Broader Mission: Dismantling the Digital Crime Infrastructure
The Operation Chakra-5 raids are not isolated—they form part of the Government of India’s broader strategy to confront organized digital crime networks at their roots. While major cybercrime syndicates often draw attention for executing scams, it’s the local enablers—like telecom agents issuing illegal SIMs—who serve as the critical link between criminals and victims.
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With five arrests already made across four states, the CBI continues its investigation. Officials have stated that additional arrests are likely, depending on forensic analysis of seized digital evidence.
This operation follows a pattern of intensifying law enforcement activity—where cybercrime is no longer treated as a purely technical challenge but as a systemic issue involving telecom loopholes, data misuse, and regulatory blind spots.