Frauds scammed US citizens claiming e-commerce accounts were compromised: CBI probe

The entire operation was carried out from an illegal call centre in Pune, with a team of trained callers, CBI officials said.

MUMBAI: The Mumbai unit of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) recently busted a cybercrime racket in which fraudsters extracted money from unsuspecting US citizens by claiming that their accounts with two major e-commerce and consumer electronics platforms had been compromised and used for illegal activities.

CBI headquarters. (HT Photo)

The entire operation was carried out from an illegal call centre in Pune, with a team of trained callers, CBI officials said. The fraudsters allegedly impersonated customer care executives of the two US firms and informed them that their accounts and social security numbers had been compromised and needed remedial action.

Once they had the attention of their potential victims, the fraudsters would allegedly attempt to hustle them by saying their compromised accounts were being used to conduct illegal activities, such as procuring narcotics and psychotropic substances, officials said.

“Once the US citizens fall prey to the scammers’ modus operandi, the fraud callers would lure them with an offer to help them avoid legal action, including arrest by US law enforcement agencies, in lieu of service charges in US dollars, ranging from $500 to $3,000,” said a CBI official, requesting anonymity.

The victims were then allegedly asked to withdraw money from their bank accounts and purchase gift vouchers. Subsequently, they were asked to share the gift voucher number along with their personal identification number, so that the amount could be redeemed by the scammers. “In the case of such a payment exceeding $3,000, the victims were asked to buy Bitcoins and subsequently transfer them to the Bitcoin wallets of the scammers,” the official said. Bitcoin is a virtual currency that isn’t legal tender in India.

The syndicate allegedly generated illegal earnings of around ₹3-4 crore per month this way, officials said. The proceeds of crime were then allegedly laundered via mule accounts, cryptocurrency and hawala routes.

The syndicate’s operatives allegedly also posed as officials of US government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service and Citizenship & Immigration Services, along with Indian diplomatic officials at times, to defraud their victims.

CBI raids

The CBI busted the cybercrime racket after conducting searches last week at seven premises belonging to individuals from the syndicate, which operated from Mumbai and Pune. The agency seized unaccounted cash worth around ₹11.2 lakh from two of the accused persons, around 150 grams of narcotic substances, cryptocurrency worth ₹6.94 lakh, and arrested four people allegedly linked to the syndicate.

The agency also booked unidentified public and private sector bank officials who allegedly facilitated the opening and operation of fake bank accounts using forged Know Your Customer (KYC) documents, officials said. The operation also involved the alleged illegal acquisition of contact leads through vendors who operated on encrypted instant messaging platforms, officials added.