Gurgaon: Police probing a SIM box cyber fraud racket that operated from rented accommodations in the city have identified an India-based handler linked to operators in Cambodia and the Philippines, pointing to a cross-border network.The development follows a crackdown over the past couple of weeks, during which police dismantled multiple SIM box setups operating from rented accommodations in Chakkarpur and U-Block. Five people have been arrested so far from locations in Gurgaon, Haryana; Jalgaon, Maharashtra; Ahmedabad, Gujarat; and Kasganj, Uttar Pradesh.During the raids, police recovered 15 SIM boxes, seven Wi-Fi TAPO cameras, seven routers, seven inverters, 42 batteries, 29 TAPO Wi-Fi switches, 28 ethernet cables and 504 SIM cards.Investigators said the setups were deliberately located near IT hubs to avoid suspicion and enable uninterrupted operations. In several cases, landlords had limited involvement beyond renting out the premises and were later made part of the probe as complainants.However, even as cyber police continue to crack down on SIM box rackets, investigations are revealing a critical gap — while local operators are being arrested, the handlers controlling these networks from abroad remain shielded behind coded identities.According to a senior officer, foreign handlers linked to countries such as Cambodia and the Philippines operate using aliases, making it difficult for investigators to establish their real identities. “They don’t disclose who they are. They operate through code names, which becomes a major limitation in taking the probe forward.”The probe has also revealed that those arrested in such cases are very well aware of the fraud. Police said the accused were fully conscious of their role. “They know the kind of scams these systems are used for, but they continue because of the money involved,” the officer said.Recruitment into these cyber networks is often routed through Telegram and personal contacts. “They look for targets who are looking for easy money or may not have jobs,” police said.The accused, mostly young men, were paid around Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 per month to operate the devices, which route international calls through local SIM cards to make them appear as domestic numbers — a key element in such frauds.While Gurgaon police have been able to dismantle multiple such setups, the financial scale of fraud linked to SIM box operations is still being assessed as part of the ongoing investigation.Officials said the findings highlight a layered network in which local operators form the operational backbone, even as the masterminds remain beyond immediate reach.“We are conducting a thorough investigation into the case to nab the Indian handler,” an official said.
