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Fake Apple, bank support centre in Navi Mumbai dupes US citizens into crypto scams; 13 held
The police seized 255 SIM cards, six mobile phones, nine cheque books, two servers, two CPUs, two SIM boxes, a laptop and printed scripts.
A fake technical-support call centre in Mahape, allegedly masquerading as representatives of a US tech giant and banks, duped American citizens into transferring money to cryptocurrency wallets and buying gift cards, Navi Mumbai police said. Thirteen people, including the alleged manager and three team leaders, have been arrested in connection with the racket.
The police seized 255 SIM cards, six mobile phones, nine cheque books, two servers, two CPUs, two SIM boxes, a laptop and printed scripts allegedly used to communicate with victims in fake American accents.
Call centre fraud in Navi Mumbai
Police identified the alleged partner and manager of the call centre as Parth Bharatbhai Patel, 27. Three others — Jambin Jacob Balumal, 28, Naeem Haroon Rashid Sheikh, 46, and Sameer Farid Sheikh, 31 — were identified as team leaders. Nine others were allegedly working as agents.
According to the FIR, the accused followed a scripted method to target US citizens. Victims would first receive a message on their Apple phones claiming that about $499 ( ₹47,000) had been debited from their bank accounts. The message instructed them to call a specified number if they had not authorised the transaction.
When victims called, agents at the fake call centre allegedly posed as Apple technical support representatives and claimed suspicious activity had been detected on their phones. They allegedly told victims that a virus called “CHAMPI” had infected their devices and triggered suspicious financial activity, putting their bank accounts at risk.
The call would then allegedly be transferred to another agent or team leader posing as a bank representative, often using a fictitious American name. Victims were allegedly told that their bank balance had to be temporarily moved to a “secure” account to protect it.
The accused allegedly sent cryptocurrency wallet QR codes to victims and persuaded them to transfer their money. If a victim refused, the accused allegedly claimed the original transaction could be cancelled by purchasing a gift card of the same value and providing its 16-digit number.
The FIR further alleges that team leaders obtained victims’ bank card details, including card numbers, expiry dates and CVVs, and used them to purchase gift cards.
During the investigation, police allegedly found WhatsApp messages on a mobile phone used by the call centre indicating that 5,301 USDT had been collected between May 6 and June 6 through the alleged fraud. The FIR values this at approximately ₹5.03 lakh, but states that the amount could rise as investigators conduct further technical analysis and trace transactions.
Police also found scripts on the computers instructing agents on how to speak to American citizens while allegedly carrying out the fraud. An application identified in the FIR as Microsipe was allegedly installed on the computers and used to receive calls from US citizens. The alleged masterminds behind the fake call centre — Mustafa Khan, his wife Zareen and their associates Purvank Shrimali alias KR, Iggy and Sheikh Bhai — remain absconding. Police have launched a search for them.
The police have registered a case under sections 318(4) (cheating and dishonesty), 319(2) (cheating by personation), 3(5) (joint criminal liability) and 238 (giving false information) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.
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