The Delhi Police Special Cell’s Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) Unit has exposed and dismantled a major cybercrime syndicate that had been bleeding State Bank of India (SBI) credit card holders across the country. The elaborate fraud, which relied on insider collusion, psychological trickery, and rapid laundering through cash and cryptocurrency, was cracked after a six-month operation.
A nationwide credit card fraud uncovered
The syndicate, operating largely out of Delhi’s Kakrola and Uttam Nagar areas, specialised in targeting SBI credit card customers. Police said the gang impersonated SBI customer care executives, tricking card holders into revealing sensitive authentication data such as One-Time Passwords (OTPs) and Card Verification Values (CVVs). This information was immediately used to purchase electronic gift cards online.
Investigators discovered that the call centre in Kakrola, Dwarka, was not an isolated scam hub but part of a highly organised network. A total of 18 individuals were eventually arrested, including the masterminds, coordinators, call centre insiders, data brokers, and cash handlers.
Insider leaks fuelled the operation
According to the police, confidential customer data had been leaking from authorised Card Protection Plan (CPP) call centres. These insiders provided personally identifiable information (PII) such as names, registered numbers, and partial card details, particularly of customers already enrolled in CPP services.
Using this information, the fraudsters called victims pretending to be from SBI, often under the pretext of renewing or verifying their CPP benefits. To gain trust, they coined deceptive phrases like “One Time Permission” and “Customer Value Verification Code,” nudging unsuspecting customers into sharing OTPs and CVVs.
Real-time looting and laundering
Once details were obtained, the fraudsters acted instantly. Gift cards bought with stolen credentials were funnelled to travel agents and middlemen. These intermediaries provided either cash or cryptocurrency, mainly USDT (Tether), making the stolen funds vanish almost without trace.
The gang ran the scam continuously, careful not to target Delhi-based customers, thus avoiding immediate detection. Victims were spread across multiple states, with total financial losses estimated at around Rs 2.6 crore.
Full chain of crime mapped
Delhi Police said the syndicate functioned as a complete criminal ecosystem. Operational members executed phishing calls and targeted victims. Finance handlers managed the laundering channels through crypto and bulk gift card reselling. During raids, officers recovered 52 SIM cards and bank details of multiple customers.
The painstaking investigation has, according to police officials, successfully dismantled an entire ecosystem of cybercrime rather than just its frontline callers, a rare example of a crackdown on both the executioners and the hidden enablers of such fraud.
