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Fake call centre targeting US residents busted in Mohali
Two kingpins, both Gujarat natives, 35 employees arrested from Phase 8-B building; money duped estimated to run into crores, say police
Unearthing another alarming cyber crime racket operating from Mohali, police have arrested 37 people who had been targeting US residents from a fake call centre in Phase 8-B, Industrial Area.
Apart from the two kingpins, both Gujarat natives, the accused — 23 males and 12 females — hail from north-eastern states, mostly Nagaland. Aged between 20 and 23, they were driven by greed for money. Fully aware of their roles, some of them sent e-mails, others made and answered calls, while some posed as bank managers or officials, said police.
Investigators estimate the money duped through the scam runs into crores.
Raiding the fake call centre in a late-night operation on Monday, police also seized 45 laptops with headsets, 59 mobile handsets (23 used for office purposes and 36 personal), and a black Mercedes-Benz car (DL-08-CAK 5520) from the accused.
Was operating under garb of IT firm
Addressing a press conference, senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sandeep Garg said the fake call centre was operating under the guise of an IT company “Webtap Private Limited” on the first floor of Kailash Tower, Plot Number E-177 in Phase 8-B, Industrial Area.
Having strong leads through human and technical intelligence, a team led by DSP (City) Mohit Aggarwal raided the office and arrested the 37 suspects, including the kingpins, Kaivin Patel and Parteek Dudhat, both hailing from Gujarat
“Further raids are underway to arrest the racket’s mastermind. It’s possible he is operating similar fake call centres in other parts of India,” he added.
Earlier in May, Punjab Police had blown the lid off another fake call centre racket, also operating from Phase 8-B, Industrial Area.
Busting two fake call centres then, running from Plot Number F88 and A-one Tower, police had arrested 155 employees.
SSP Garg said, “Mohali, being an IT hub with numerous IT companies and international call centres, also has individuals operating fake call centres under the guise of legitimate ones. Currently, no connection has been established between the two rackets.”
A case under Sections 406 (breach of trust), 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code was registered against the accused at the Phase 1 police station.
Sold fake gift cards valued up to $1,000 to dupe victims
Disclosing the fraudsters’ modus operandi, SSP Sandeep Garg said they sent fake e-mails to US-based account holders, claiming an illegal transaction was attempted from their PayPal account.
“They would write to unwary people, threatening them that they would face penalties for the illegal transaction. To avoid such penalties, the victims were instructed to call a customer care number provided in the e-mail,” Garg detailed.
He further explained that calls from the victims were received at the fake call centre. The employees would then instruct them to purchase a gift card from them to convert their illegal transaction into a legal one and avoid penalties. “By selling fake gift cards ranging between 100 and 1,000 US dollars, they duped numerous unsuspecting US citizens,” the SSP added.
He shared this fake call centre had been operational for six months: “Upon receiving a tip-off, our teams verified the information and conducted a raid, resulting in arrests and seizure of equipment used in the fraud.”
