Leading to the arrest of 77 people, including 22 Chinese nationals. It was a “significant breakthrough in the fight against cybercrime”, the authorities said after a multi-agency raid on a Chinese-run company. The firm employed Zambians who believed they were to be call-centre agents. They had been tasked “with engaging in deceptive conversations with unsuspecting mobile users across various platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, chatrooms and others, using scripted dialogues”. During the operation 11 Sim boxes were found – these are devices that can route calls in a way that bypasses legitimate phone networks. Evidence indicated people in countries including Singapore, Peru, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and others across Africa had been targeted. It came after months of intelligence gathering by the agencies following an alarming rise in internet fraud cases in Zambia, DEC director general Nason Banda said after Tuesday’s raid.

SOURCE: BBC