The CBI has arrested 26 alleged cybercriminals over the past four days for their involvement in fraudulent activities targeting people globally.

The arrests were made following raids at 32 places across Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Visakhapatnam since last Thursday. The central agency has seized ₹58.45 lakh, locker keys and three luxury vehicles.

Sources said four call centres — V.C. Infrometrix Pvt Ltd at Regent Plaza, Pune; V.C. Infrometrix Pvt Ltd, Murli Nagar, Visakhapatnam; Viajex Solutions, Hyderabad; and Atriya Global Services Pvt Ltd, Visakhapatnam — were among the places raidedby the CBI.

The agency intercepted 170 people engaged in live online criminal activities across the four call centres.

“The cybercriminals targeted in this operation were involved in a range of illicit activities, including impersonating... tech support services and approaching victims, especially in the US, in the guise that the victims’ systems have been hacked,” the agency spokesperson said.

The victims were told their identities had been stolen and that unauthorised transactions were being made in their bank accounts. The scammers told the victims that they were under the scanner of investigation agencies of their respective countries, the spokesperson said.

The cybercriminals then induced the victims to transfer their money into new accounts given by cybercriminals on the pretext of safeguarding their finances. “In some instances, the cybercriminals intimidated the victims into transferring funds to them through international gift cards or cryptocurrency,” he said.