Fake call centre in Noida dupes foreign citizens of ₹50 lakh, 14 held

The suspects would ask for payment of $5,000 for their technical support. On receiving the payment, the suspects pretended to clean up the malware, virus etc. from the victims’ system

​ The Noida police on Thursday arrested 14 people who were allegedly involved in running a fake call centre and duping American citizens of money by posing as technical support staff, senior police officers said, adding that the gang had duped the American citizens of nearly ₹50 lakh until now.

The call centre was searched and incriminating evidence was recovered, including 18 laptops, an internet router, two internet network switches, four cars and 17 headphones. Fourteen people were arrested from the spot (AFP/representational image)

According to Shakti Avasthy, deputy commissioner of police (crime), police received information about a gang operating an international call centre racket from a rented accommodation in Sector 108.

“Acting on the information, the place was searched and incriminating evidence was recovered, including 18 laptops, an internet router, two internet network switches, four cars and 17 headphones. Fourteen people were arrested from the spot,” said the officer.

Upon investigation, it was found that the suspects would send an email blast to a large number of US citizens, whose data was acquired by them through a vendor illegally.

“The emails would inform unsuspecting Americans that their system had been compromised and they should call for technical assistance on the number given in the mail. When the victim called the number, it was picked up at the fake call centre. The suspects then pretended to be from the company’s technical support assistance team and induced the victims to give remote access of their computers. Later, they would tell the victims that several malicious programs had been found in their system,” said the DCP.

To gain trust, they would even caution the victims that their banking credentials might have been compromised and immediate remedial steps were needed. The victims would then agree to pay whatever amount the suspects asked for to resolve the issue, he said.

“The suspects would ask for payment of $5,000 in each case. On receiving the payment, the suspects pretended to clean up the malware, virus etc. from the victims’ system. The payments were made in the form of gift cards which the suspects would redeem immediately,” said Avasthy.

He added that the exact number of victims is yet to be ascertained.

“The exact number of people that the gang has duped is yet to be ascertained. It is suspected that they have defrauded their targets to the tune of at least ₹50 lakh in the last six months, since their operations began,” said the officer.

The suspects have been identified as Prince Chaudhary- a resident of Jind, Haryana, Ram Rathore, a resident of Buddha Vihar, Delhi, Vaibhav Arora from Ashok Vihar, Delhi, Tansul Solanki from Pooth Kalan, Delhi, Ankit Pant, resident of Rishi Vihar in Dehradun, Kaushik Sain from Vijay Colony, Phase-1, Dehradun, Shivam Sharma, from Bharat Vihar, Delhi, Dhruv Chopra from Krishna Vihar, Delhi, Saaransh Dua from Rohini, Delhi, Navjot Singh, resident of Jail Road, Delhi, Vicky Singh resident of Vikas Nagar, Dehradun, Mohd. Nadir from Khalapar, Muzaffarnagar, Vaibhav Gaur from Prem Nagar, Dehradun, Saurabh Awasthi, a resident of Gaur City, Greater Noida west.

The suspects face charges of cheating under the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the IT Act.