Visakhapatnam cybercrime police issue LOC for woman running overseas job scam; victims trafficked to Southeast Asia for cybercrime operations.
Ankita, prime accused in overseas job fraud based in Laos, allegedly sold Indian youth to Chinese-run scam firms; Visakhapatnam police arrest associate, launch wider probe. (Image:DC)
Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam cybercrime police have issued a Look-Out Circular (LOC) for a woman named Ankita who is allegedly operating from Laos as part of a Chinese company. The police have also arrested her associate Mukesh from Anakapalli district.
The scam, which is operated by Chinese companies, targets unemployed youth from India and lures them with promises of high-paying data entry jobs in Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangkok, and Laos. They will later force them into cybercrime operations.
The breakthrough came when police arrested Mukesh from Anakapalli district. The investigation revealed that Ankita is the main accused, whose role evolved from victim to perpetrator as she began actively recruiting other Indians for the fraudulent scheme through social media platforms, including Facebook.
The investigation uncovered that Ankita was allegedly selling Indian recruits to Chinese scam companies for `2 lakh each while also training new arrivals on fraudulent techniques.
The scam came to light when five young men from Visakhapatnam, who had travelled to Laos expecting legitimate employment, were defrauded and had to return to India through the Indian Embassy.
According to data from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), approximately 60 people from Visakhapatnam have travelled to these southeast Asian countries on visiting visas and have not returned.
Visakhapatnam police commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi said that police are working to identify and repatriate Indians trapped in these scam operations.
The police have noted that following recent arrests of agents in Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangkok, and Laos, the criminal networks have adapted their recruitment strategies.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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