Ahmedabad: In a crackdown on organised cyberfraud, the Cyber Centre of Excellence of CID Crime, Gandhinagar, on Tuesday arrested two persons allegedly linked to a growing trend known as ‘Cybercrime-as-a-Service (CaaS)’, officials said. The accused were nabbed from Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh following technical analysis and intelligence inputs.Police officers said CaaS is an emerging model in which cybercriminals provide backend services such as virtual mobile numbers, OTPs, fake identities and infrastructure to fraudsters who carry out threatening calls, phishing emails and online scams. These services allow criminals with minimal technical skills to execute large-scale cyberfrauds.
According to CID crime, the arrested accused — Abdesh Singh and Shivam Rawat — both from Gwalior, allegedly ran two websites, along with associated Telegram channels. The platforms were used to supply virtual numbers and one-time passwords to cyberfraudsters across India and abroad. The accused were allegedly assisted by other associates.A preliminary investigation revealed that the accused also targeted e-commerce platforms, facilitating fake account creation and financial fraud. Analysis of seized digital and banking records showed transactions of Rs 17.54 lakh through Indian bank accounts and around Rs 20 lakh in USDT (cryptocurrency).Officials said the accused hosted at least 7 websites on foreign servers, making detection and takedown difficult. The infrastructure was allegedly designed to bypass verification systems and enable anonymous cyber offences, including threat calls, email extortion and online cheating.Police said the case highlights how cybercrime evolved into a service-based ecosystem, mirroring legitimate online business models. By selling tools and access, CaaS operators reduce entry barriers and expand the reach of cyberfraud networks.
