Fake call centre busted in Borivali

At least 15 people were working in the call centre, running in a flat at Bhim Nagar at Gorai, Borivali West, as per the police.

Mumbai: Five people have been arrested on Monday for allegedly running a fake call centre in Gorai. They mostly used to cheat American citizens by luring them into buying expensive banned lifestyle medicines at highly discounted prices.

The investigating officer said that the five accused had hired 10 employees and trained them to talk in an American accent. The employees were then asked to lure the Americans into buying banned pharma drugs at highly discounted prices – offering discounts of up to 40 per cent. (Image for representation)

The accused are identified as Jitendra Mittal (31), Ravi Lalvani (44), Shabbir Khan (25), Shakil Shaikh (23) and Santoshi Sanghvi (44). According to the police, around 2,500 fake call centres are functioning in the areas between Malad and Borivali.

At least 15 people were working in the call centre, running in a flat at Bhim Nagar at Gorai, Borivali West, as per the police. Police officers said that they had received a tip-off about the call centre and on reaching the first floor of the establishment, they saw people making internet calls and talking in an American accent.

After interrogation, the police learnt that it was easy for these people to open their own call centres as they had worked earlier in call centres run by others. The five had just rented out the flat, a commercial property, and started a call centre by buying data of American citizens from the dark web.

“The medicines, mentioned by the call centre to lure the US citizens, are banned in their country, but are in great demand,” said Ninad Sawant, senior police inspector of Borivali police station.

The call centre had been operating since March 2022. After searching the office, the police found 12 hard disks on the premises. “We are examining the hard disks to find out how many Americans had been contacted by the accused,” added Sawant.

The investigating officer said that the five accused had hired 10 employees and trained them to talk in an American accent. The employees were then asked to lure the Americans into buying banned pharma drugs at highly discounted prices – offering discounts of up to 40 per cent.

The employees did not disclose to the Americans that they were calling from India. “It is called ‘Pharma Scam’ wherein US citizens pay for promised drugs, which are never delivered,” said a police officer.