The scam tricked tens of thousands of US victimsinto believing that their personal computers were infected with a virus or malware and then convince the victims to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars

REGION OF PEEL, ON: Five men were charged in an indictment and a New Jersey woman pleaded guilty in connection with a transnational technical support scam that targeted more than 20,000 victims, many of whom were elderly, in the United States and Canada, a US attorney announced.

Gagan Lamba, 41, and Harshad Madaan, 34, both of New Delhi, India; Jayant Bhatia, 33, of Ontario, Canada, and Vikash Gupta, 33, of Faridabad, India, are all charged by indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit computer fraud, and substantive violations of wire fraud and computer fraud. Lamba, Madaan, Bhatia, and a fifth defendant, Kulwinder Singh, 34, of Richmond Hill, New York, are also charged with conspiracy to commit money launderingand engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. Bhatia has been charged with offenses related to his participation in a high-tech fraud scheme.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: From 2012 through November 2022, the defendants and others were members of a criminal fraud ring that operated a technical support fraud scheme in the United States, India, and Canada. The scheme targeted victims across the United States and Canada, including New Jersey, many of whom were elderly. 

The primary objective was to trick victims into believing that their personal computers were infected with a virus or malware and then convince the victims to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to the fraud ring for phony computer repair services. Over the course of the conspiracy, the fraud ring generated more than $10 million in proceeds from at least 20,000 victims.

“As alleged in the indictment, the defendants are charged with using access to personal computers to run a high-tech extortion scheme on a global scale,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger said. “They frequently preyed upon senior citizens and scared them into paying for unnecessary and useless computer repair services. Working with our partners here and abroad, we will remain vigilant in protecting our citizens from these kinds of schemes.”

The fraud ring caused fraudulent pop-up windows to appear on victims’ personal computers. The pop-ups were designed, at times, to “freeze” the victims’ computers, which prevented the victims from using or accessing files on their computers.

The pop-ups also claimed, falsely, that the victims’ computers were infected with a virus, or otherwise compromised, and directed the victims to call a telephone number to receive technical support.  Sometimes the pop-ups warned victims to not shut down their computers.

The pop-ups also included, without authorization, the names of well-known, legitimate technology and antivirus companies. In reality, the pop-ups were a hoax, designed to trick the victims into believing that their computers were infected with viruses that did not actually exist.

Victims who called the technical support phone numbers appearing on the pop-ups were connected to one or more call centers in India associated with the fraud ring. Fraud ring members at the call centers falsely repeated that the victims’ computers were infected with viruses and offered to fix the purported issue for a fee. The fraud ring members would then request permission to remotely access the victims’ computers. Once granted access, fraud ring members would, at times, download and run a freely available adblocker tool, advise the victim that the “issue” had been resolved, and then leave a text file on the desktop of the computer with payment instructions.

Victims were instructed to pay the fraud ring in amounts ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars by: (a) electronically scanning checks made payable to one of several shell companies set up by the fraud ring and (b) sending, via FedEx, physical checks to addresses maintained by Singh and Kumar in New Jersey. The fraud ring often contacted certain victims again to offer additional services or lengthier service agreements that required victims to pay even more money to the fraud ring.

The wire fraud and computer fraud charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross amount of gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.The money laundering charges carry a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved, whichever is greater. The transacting in criminal proceeds charges carry a maximum of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. 

Authorities in Ontario arrested Jayant Bhatia, from Brampton and seized evidence in relation to the cyber-enabled fraud investigation.

Authorities in India arrested Madaan on Dec. 14, 2022, and Gupta on Dec. 15, 2022, on local charges for their involvement in the tech support scheme. Lamba remains at large. Bhatia was arrested by Canadian authorities pursuant to a provisional arrest request from the United States. Singh was arrested at his home in New York. Singh made his initial appearance on Dec. 14, 2022, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael A. Hammer in Newark federal court and was released on $100,000 unsecured bond.

A sixth defendant, Meghna Kumar, 50, of Edison, New Jersey, pleaded guilty on Dec. 14, 2022, by videoconference before Judge Hammer to an information charging her with engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity, based on her role in the scheme.

“Cybercrime is borderless and cyber criminals have become more sophisticated. A more collected and collaborative approach between our law enforcement partners is paramount,” said Deputy Nick Milinovich, Peel Regional Police Investigative & Emergency Services. “These criminals are motivated by financial gain and Peel Regional Police is committed to providing appropriate, persistent disruption and investigative techniques to protect our community members.”

“The CAFC has seen another massive increase in reported financial losses to scams and fraud in 2022,” Chris Lynam, the Director General of the CAFC and National Cybercrime Coordination Centre said. “While our partnerships at all levels have been essential to successfully targeting fraudsters, we also need Canadians’ help by reporting instances of scams, fraud and cybercrime to their local police and the CAFC. Every report brings us one step closer to preventing further victimization and catching the criminals.”

Public education and awareness are vital in preventing the continuation of becoming a victim of cyber crime. Consider these helpful tips: 

• Do your research. Verify the organization or person. 
• Do not be afraid to say no.
• Any requests for money should be treated with caution.
• Avoid clicking on convenient links; source the service separately from the information in an email or message.
• Do not prepay someone you have never met for services or products through Interac e-transfer or by prepaid gift cards.
• Do not send currency via Bitcoin ABM at the direction of someone you do not know and trust.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.