On Monday 7 July, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided a fraud call-centre based in Noida, in Uttar Pradesh.
The activity followed 18 months of ground breaking collaboration between the CBI, NCA, the FBI and Microsoft – who worked together to identify the organised crime group, analyse data and target complex IT infrastructure used by fraudsters. Victims in the UK alone are believed to have lost over £390,000.
NCA’s International Liaison Officers and the FBI’s Attaché in Delhi shared intelligence with the CBI, who took urgent action. Two individuals have now been arrested.
The investigation commenced in early 2024, after NCA International Liaison Officers in the USA received information from Microsoft which was then compared with City of London Police’s Action Fraud Reports.
More than 100 UK victims had been contacted by a group offering to fix their computers for a fee, following a screen pop up that suggested their device was infected or had been hacked. In reality, the fraudsters were posing as employees of Microsoft, offering software solutions to an attack that had never taken place.
The NCA, through its close working relationship with the FBI, identified that the same call centre was targeting U.S citizens. A partnership was agreed through the Agency’s Liaison Office in Washington DC to share intelligence and information.
The criminals behind the scam used a wide range of tactics to try and disguise their identity – using spoofed phone numbers or Voice Over Internet Protocol to route calls through multiple servers in several countries.
The NCA, FBI and Microsoft identified a number of key suspects based in India, and compiled a file of evidence that included testimonies from victims, supported by the City of London Police. This was briefed to the CBI by the NCA’s International Liaison Officers in India following a visit to the country earlier this year. The visit had been organised to further strengthen relationships and enhance ongoing work to tackle the global threat from fraud.
The NCA will continue to support the CBI to ensure justice for UK victims.
Nick Sharp, Deputy Director of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), said:
“Fraud is a devastating crime that causes victims significant, long-lasting harm.
“Here at the National Economic Crime Centre, we play a unique role, collaborating with overseas law enforcement to target high-harm organised crime groups targeting UK citizens.
“This case demonstrates the success we can have when we harness expertise from across the public and private sectors, and work hand in hand with partners abroad to target fraudsters, wherever they are. It is an outstanding example of the value of the operational arrangement reached between the UK and the US last year specifically to tackle call centre fraud.”
Steven Masada, Assistant General Counsel, Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit, commented:
“Public-private partnerships are crucial to tackling tech support fraud as law enforcement and tech companies see different aspects of the cybercrime ecosystem. By joining forces and sharing our insights, we’re able to more effectively dismantle fraudulent networks and protect vulnerable populations.”
Commander for Cyber and Economic Crime, Tor Garnett, at the City of London Police said:
“As the national lead force for fraud, we know that combating this type of crime requires a truly collaborative approach. This operation demonstrates the strength of our partnerships – not just across UK law enforcement, but internationally and with private sector organisations.
“By working together, we’re able to dismantle complex criminal networks, protect victims, and prevent further financial harm. We’re committed to continuing this joint effort to ensure fraud criminals are brought to justice and that the public can have confidence in our response to economic crime.”
Fraud Minister Lord Hanson said:
“Fraud is a horrific crime, and we are determined to tackle the prolific offenders and bring those responsible to justice.
“As we’ve seen in this case, tackling fraud needs global action, and that’s why international cooperation such as the new UNODC-INTERPOL Global Fraud Summit, is an important way to share knowledge and catch these criminals.
“I would like to express my gratitude to US and Indian partners for their collaboration in this operation.”
11 July 2025
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