Key points
- India’s Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested four people over an alleged tech-support and extortion racket that impersonated Microsoft and pushed US citizens to pay through Bitcoin ATMs.
- The CBI said a Florida resident lost about $440,000 in 2022 and a New Jersey resident about $130,000 in 2023 after fake pop-ups warned that their computers were compromised.
- The case surfaces as India’s Ministry of Home Affairs expands foreigner blacklisting rules to explicitly cover cybercrime and cryptocurrency racketeering.
India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested four people over an alleged international tech-support and extortion racket that impersonated Microsoft and coerced elderly US citizens into paying through Bitcoin ATMs. The agency described the India-based Bitcoin ATM scam after raids across Punjab and Delhi, saying the group targeted mainly older Americans with fake “your computer is hacked” pop-ups before routing their cash into cryptocurrency.
The arrests follow a run of India-based call centers that have defrauded older Americans and Canadians through remote-access and tech-support schemes. The CBI said it conducted raids on the intervening night of August 5 and 6, 2026, at 10 locations, including a fake call center at the Mohali premises of the alleged kingpin, Sourabh Rana. Investigators also named Indermohan Singh, Harneet Singh, and Jappandeep Singh among those arrested. All four are accused, and the case remains under investigation.
Inside the India-Based Bitcoin ATM Scam
The CBI said the operators deployed pop-ups displaying counterfeit Microsoft toll-free numbers that connected victims directly to the syndicate’s call centers. In some cases, the agency said, the accused falsely told targets they were linked to serious offenses, coercing them into “making cryptocurrency ransom payments through cryptocurrency ATMs.”
A Florida resident was deceived in 2022 after fraudsters warned that her financial information was compromised and that illegal material had been planted on her device, according to the CBI. She deposited around $440,000 through multiple transactions into a Bitcoin ATM. A New Jersey resident faced the same method in 2023 and deposited about $130,000. The defrauded cryptocurrency moved through multiple wallets out of the United States, the agency said, and was later laundered through operators in Delhi. Searches yielded more than 20 mobile phones, 15 laptops and tablets, hard drives, memory cards, cash, documents, and crypto wallets.
During later bail proceedings, the CBI told a court that about 203.30 Bitcoin, valued at more than ₹50 crore (over $6 million) at the relevant time, had reached an exchange account linked to Rana. Investigators said a cryptocurrency trail connected a US victim’s Bitcoin ATM deposit directly to that account.
ALSO READ: CBI’s Crackdown on Crypto Scams Targeting Senior Citizens in the US and Canada
India Tightens Its Stance on Crypto-Enabled Crime
The case lands as India’s Ministry of Home Affairs widens the grounds for blacklisting foreign nationals. Updated immigration guidelines, tied to the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, now list cybercrime, cryptocurrency racketeering, child trafficking, and terror financing among the reasons a foreigner can be denied entry or stay. The change reflects how India is folding crypto-enabled fraud into its wider security and immigration framework.
US consumer-protection authorities have repeatedly warned that scammers steer victims toward Bitcoin ATMs after claiming their money is at risk, then move the funds to wallets the scammer controls. The CBI said its investigation continues as it traces further victims and the broader network.
Editorial Note: Reported and edited by the Crypto India Magazine editorial team. We use AI tools to assist with research and drafting; every article is reviewed and fact-checked by our editors.
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