Chandigarh, Sept. 16 -- Determined to chase down cyber fraudsters beyond Chandigarh's borders, the Cyber Crime police station has spread its operational footprint to 10 states, arresting 109 accused from six of them between January and August this year. Through an extensive crackdown, cyber police carried out 56 raids across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, West Bengal, Delhi NCR, Haryana, Jharkhand and Bihar - states identified as cyber fraud hotspots. The raids resulted in 109 arrests, the highest, 36, from Rajasthan, followed by 23 from Uttar Pradesh, 12 from Haryana, 11 were from Punjab, 4 from Jharkhand and 3 from West Bengal, with the remaining 20 spread across the other four states. Besides arrests, police also froze Rs.2.91 crore linked to fraudulent transactions, seized 170 mobile phones, five laptops and six SIM boxes. The arrests revealed the geographically scattered but interconnected nature of cyber crime, where modules in different states collaborated to execute large-scale scams. Investigations further uncovered international linkages, with one major breakthrough exposing a cyber syndicate operating from Cambodia, Hong Kong, Laos, and Myanmar, which was running "digital arrest" scams in India by impersonating police officers through IVR calls. "Each raid was backed by technical intelligence, digital footprint analysis and inter-state coordination, ensuring that safe havens for cyber criminals were systematically dismantled. Many of these areas are not only difficult to access but also lack reliable internet or technical infrastructure, making on-ground verification and data recovery extremely challenging," said an officer involved in the raids. Another hurdle comes in the form of jurisdiction and coordination with local police. Each raid requires legal sanction and operational support from the state police. While cooperation has improved through central goverment's Samanvya Portal, a joint cyber crime investigation facilitation platform, delays in paperwork and approvals often slow down operations. Cyber criminals are also skilled at masking their identities using advanced digital tools, such as VoIP calls, VPNs and spoofed numbers, making geographical tracing difficult. "Fraudsters also use fake or temporary addresses when procuring SIM cards or bank accounts. Many operate from rented rooms in villages with no permanent ID proof linked. Sometimes, raids often reveal empty hideouts because gangs operate in rotational shifts, moving equipment frequently to avoid detection," said an officer in cyber crime unit. The Cyber Crime Cell has also found that mule bank accounts, originating from the city, are being used for suspicious activity of cheque withdrawal and ATM frauds, indicating that local account holders are part of wider cyber crime networks. The locals also keep Point of Sale (POS) fraud SIM cards - a common tool in cyber crime rackets. These SIM cards, often procured through fake identities, are used to bypass banking security checks, facilitate fraudulent digital transactions and mask the real operators of the crime. According to officials, several investigations have revealed the involvement of Chandigarh-based individuals who allowed their bank accounts to be misused by fraudsters for transferring illicit money. "These individuals act as conduits, letting criminals withdraw or route funds through their accounts for a commission," said an investigating officer. The revelation has come through the "Pratibimb" module of central government's Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), which maps locations of criminals and crime infrastructure to give visibility to jurisdictional officers across states....