Family-run fake call centre busted in south Delhi

A family-run fake call center in Delhi was busted for duping people by posing as loan providers, extracting over ₹36,000 from victims.

A family-run fake call centre has been busted in south Delhi’s Sangam Vihar exposing a racket that duped people by posing as an insurance and instant loan service provider, police said on Tuesday.

Family-run fake call centre busted in south Delhi

Deputy commissioner of police (north) Raja Banthia said that the action was taken after a 31-year-old Sadar Bazar resident approached the cyber police, claiming he had been cheated of ₹36,050 on the pretext of being sanctioned an online loan.

According to the police, the complainant, Mohammed Shuaib, was looking for a loan and had approached several banks when, on August 25, he received a WhatsApp call from an unknown number. The caller allegedly introduced himself as a loan agent and promised quick approval with minimal documentation. He first demanded ₹2,750 as processing charges and later told the complainant that the loan had been sanctioned.

“Over the next few days, the fraudsters cited multiple reasons to extract more money, including unsecured loan charges and stamp duty. In total, ₹36,050 was transferred through UPI to a bank account in the name of one Himanshu Kumar,” a senior police officer said.

A case was registered at Cyber Police Station, North district, on September 3, and a technical investigation was launched. Police said that detailed analysis of call detail records (CDRs), IMEI numbers and the money trail helped them identify a fake call centre operating out of Sangam Vihar in south Delhi.

“On November 11, a raid was conducted at the premises, which led to the arrest of Suresh Kumar, 62, who was found to be a director of a company named Suraash Associates Private Limited. During interrogation, he allegedly revealed that the call centre was being run with the active involvement of his children,” Banthia said.

Police said Suresh’s sons - Himanshu, Mohit and Rohit - and his daughter Madhu Rani were managing the day-to-day operations of the fake call centre. While Himanshu acted as the branch manager, Mohit and Rohit assisted him along with hired staff. Madhu Rani was listed as a director of the company along with her father, each holding a 50% share.

“The accused disclosed that the call centre was set up to target unsuspecting people by offering fake loans and insurance services. Victims were lured with assurances of immediate disbursal and then repeatedly asked to deposit money on different pretexts,” the officer said.

Investigators also found that Himanshu allegedly paid ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 every month to his father from the proceeds of the illegal operation.

Following the arrest of Suresh Kumar, notices were served to his children. Himanshu Kumar, (30), Mohit Kumar (31), Rohit Kumar (32) and Madhu Rani (33) later joined the investigation and were bound down under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), police said.

During the raid, police recovered eight mobile phones with SIM cards, two landline phones, 10 laptops, a Wi-Fi router, four cheque books, registers used to maintain fake accounts and employee ID cards linked to the call centre.