Fake call centre in Mulund used to cheat US citizens busted; 5 held

Police said the accused had previously worked with a fake call centre in Surat and was inspired to start his own call centre to cheat American and Canadian citizens

MUMBAI: In a late-night raid on Tuesday, the police busted a fake call centre operating from a flat in Mulund, whose operators allegedly cheated citizens of the US and Canada. The call centre workers posed as employees of LendingPoint, a finance company, and used E-SIM cards to cheat their targets. Victims were promised quick, unsecured payday loans and made to pay minimal processing charges, then they were left without loans, said a police officer.

iMumbai, India - November 12, 2025: Mulund Police has received credible information that a person by name Sagar Gupta is running fake international call centre at Mulund colony Mulund West with the help of his other aid by impersonating as Loan Official of Lending Point by making phishing calls/messages from an illegal call centre. They are cheating citizens of US and Canada and fraudulently obtaining proceeds of crime via Gift Cards/cryptocurrency by offering them quick loans. The call centre is located at Mulund Colony, Mulund West in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, November 12 2025. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Based on a tip-off by senior police inspector Ajay Joshi and police inspector Shivaji Chavan, Mulund police raided a residential flat in Mulund West. “We found that Sagar Gupta, 27, was running the fake call centre, without any permission, to cheat citizens of the US and Canada,” said a police officer. The accused, Gupta, had hired Abhishek Singh, 28, Tanmay Dhad Singh, 27, Shailesh Shetty, 27, and Rohan Ansari, 28, to carry out the scam. The police seized two laptops, eleven mobile phones and ₹76,000 cash during the raid and arrested the five men. According to the police, Gupta had previously worked with a fake call centre in Surat and was inspired to start his own call centre to cheat American and Canadian citizens.

“They posed as employees of financial firms like LendingPoint, and promised quick unsecured loans between ₹10,000 to ₹15,000 via cryptocurrency or gift cards, and then cheated people by not giving the promised loan amounts,” said the police officer.

The police registered a case on Wednesday under Sections 316 (criminal breach of trust), 318 (cheating), 338 (forgery of valuable security), 340 (using a forged document or electronic record as if it were genuine), 319 (cheating by personation) and 336 (forgery) of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023, along with various sections of the Telecommunication Act and the Information Technology Act, 2020. “We have also booked a Surat-based individual, Prashant Rajput, who allegedly helped them clear the dollar gift cards,” said the police officer.