The Cyber Crime Unit of Chandigarh Police has learnt that the web of cyber criminals which initially started in Jamtara, Jharkhand, has now reached Dubai and Cambodia, along with several states across India.DSP (Cyber Crime), Chandigarh Police, A Venkatesh said that during investigations of multiple cases, it has been learnt that earlier around five years ago, most of the cybercrime cases of “phishing” originated from Jamtara, but now the web of the cyber criminals has spread to South East Asia, including countries like Cambodia and Dubai.There have been several withdrawals of money involved in cyber fraud in Dubai, Cambodia, said the DSP.As per the Chandigarh Police Cyber Crime unit, recently a transnational cybercrime syndicate networking from Southeast Asia was traced.DSP Venkatesh said that the syndicate was operating “digital arrest” scams across India with roots traced to Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Hong Kong, and financial links stretching to hubs like Dubai.Police investigations during a cyber fraud case involving a loss of Rs 1.01 crore had revealed that the syndicate operates using SIM box technology, primarily devices manufactured by Dinstar. These allow fraudsters to route internet-based international calls into India, disguising them as local numbers. Each SIM box can generate over 200,000 IVR (interactive voice response) calls daily, enabling mass-scale fraud attempts.Many of these SIM box operations were remotely managed from Southeast Asia, with handlers located in Cambodia, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Financial flows were also routed through intermediaries in Dubai, a common transit point for laundering illicit money, said the DSP.Rajasthan – emerging as new hub of cyber criminalsStory continues below this adIn its 56 raids across 10 states in India till August 2025, the Cyber Crime Police of Chandigarh has arrested 109 people, and among which 26 accused landed into police net from Rajasthan.As per the Cyber Crime Police, the raids spanned cybercrime hotspots across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, West Bengal, Delhi NCR, Haryana, Jharkhand, and Bihar. These states have emerged as hubs for organised cybercriminal gangs who exploit digital platforms for financial frauds, phishing, identity theft, and elaborate scams.Police data reveals that apart from Rajasthan, 23 have been arrested from Uttar Pradesh, 12 from Haryana, 11 from Punjab, eight from Delhi-NCR.Sector 46 and Manimajra hotspotsThe City’s Cybercrime Police has also identified hotspots: Sector 46 and Manimajra in Chandigarh for cheque withdrawal frauds. These hotspots were flagged on the Pratibhimb Portal, and further prompting targeted policing in these areas.Story continues below this ad‘If SIM cards, bank accounts not misused, fraud can be prevented’As per DSP Venkatesh, the cyber criminals work through SIM cards obtained through fake IDs and bank accounts obtained from gullible people.While the SIM cards are further used by the cyber criminals to dupe the victims by calling them, the bank accounts are used further to receive the money from victims.From “digital arrest” to other banking frauds, it has been learnt that the criminals have been receiving money involved in fraud, in multiple bank accounts, and have been buying the accounts from gullible people by paying them some money. The cheated money is transferred from one bank account to another to deceive the police, and then the money is withdrawn. In multiple cases, the cyber police has arrested the persons holding the bank accounts, but during the investigation the police learnt that the bank account holders had sold their bank account details to the actual accused involved in the crime.Story continues below this ad“We have ben registering FIRs against the persons whose bank accounts and SIM cards have been used in the crime,” said the DSP.Verify your transaction even before using appsDSP Venkatesh has cautioned people on using apps like Google Pay, Paytm and others.“One must verify the transaction before doing it,” said the DSP.