Global Trends

China’s MPS announced on 23 September 2026 the dismantling of a transnational “national asset unfreezing” fraud ring: 257 suspects detained (101 in China, 156 abroad in Laos, Singapore and Cambodia), suspected funds over 6 billion yuan (~US$888–895M), mainly targeting elderly victims.

Kolkata Police Cyber Crime Branch arrested three people, including alleged kingpin Mohsin Khan alias Faisal (31), in a Pragati Maidan raid on an international call-centre fraud network. Also held: Md. Khurshid alias Guddu (35) and Imran Ali (27). Seized: 4 phones, 4 SIMs, ₹96,000 cash.

Kolkata Police’s Cyber Crime Branch arrested nine people in a Picnic Garden raid on a domestic call-centre scam, guided by Pratibimb Hotspot Analysis. Pratibimb is India’s I4C geospatial module that maps cybercrime infrastructure for police; accused allegedly impersonated Kerala State Lottery, Dhani Loan and Bajaj Finance staff targeting South Indian victims.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar signed the UN Convention against Cybercrime on the sidelines of UNGA 81. India’s domestic cybercrime architecture — I4C, TAU, NCRP, CFCFRMS, Sahyog and related platforms — already maps closely to the Convention’s criminalization, evidence, cooperation and victim-support pillars; ratification is still required for entry into force as a State Party.

CBI has arrested Ankit Satishchandra Pandey, a key accused in a transnational cyber fraud case in which illegal call centres in Ahmedabad allegedly defrauded U.S. nationals of more than US$ 7.21 million since 2024 by impersonating U.S. federal agencies over VoIP and coercing victims into cash and gold handovers.

India ordered Google to block 216 Firebase Realtime Databases in a single day via five I4C notices dated 20 September, the largest one-day Firebase takedown disclosed so far. Criminals misuse free Firebase projects as C2 for Android banking malware and OTP theft. Notices went through the Sahyog Portal under IT Act Section 79(3)(b).

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CBI arrested Abhishek Kumar, a wanted kingpin in the Mahadev Online Betting App case, on arrival from Dubai at Hyderabad’s RGIA on 24 September 2026. He allegedly ran Mahadev Book operations, coordinated panels and acquired Dubai assets from betting proceeds. India has also hardened rules under the Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025, banning online money games.

Pakistan’s NCCIA Lahore Circle raided an illegal call centre and arrested nine suspects, including two masterminds. Investigators seized eight laptops, eight Android phones, nine mobile phones and one computer system. The agency announced the crackdown via its official X account on 24 September 2026.

Kerala Police CCSE arrested 8 people in statewide Operation P-Hunt 26.3 against online CSEAM, starting 7:00 AM IST on 21 September 2026. Officers registered 135 FIRs, confiscated 212 electronic devices including mobiles, and generated 9 SBR reports. The drive reflects India’s strong stance on CSEAM; Meta and Google have agreed to report such material directly to Indian authorities in a first-of-its-kind arrangement.

According to the spokesperson, the operation led to the recovery of 306 mobile phones, 383 computers, CPUs, 299 monitors and laptops. The authorities declared the call centre building a sub-jail and kept all the detainees there.

Mongolia is seeing a smishing wave that impersonates SmartCar (smartcar.mn). Fake SMS messages claim an unpaid traffic fine, push a 24-hour deadline and a 10× penalty threat, then send victims to https://zqyzn.com/mn/ to steal bank usernames, passwords and OTPs. TV5 Mongolia has marked the message as false information.