Eighty-four people, including 12 women, were arrested for allegedly running a fake call centre in east Delhi’s Jagatpuri and duping thousands of the US citizens by reportedly impersonating employees of a leading e-commerce company and offering assistance in solving issues regarding the company’s services, police said on Friday.
Police said they seized 93 laptops, four computers and two SUVs, in addition to ₹64.30 lakh cash, from the accused.
Police identified Mannu Singh Panwar, who is presently lodged in Haryana’s Bhiwani Jail for his alleged involvement in a murder case, as the brains behind the operation. According to police, Panwar was a liquor vend contractor who was previously arrested in September 2020 for running a similar fake call centre in Gurugram. DCP (Shahdara) R Sathiyasundaram said 30 people were arrested in the Gurugram raid.
DCP Sathiyasundaram said that the district’s cyber cell and Jagatpuri police station teams had received information regarding the fake international call centre operating from near Jagatpuri tiles market.
“We raided the premises and found that the fraudsters were engaged in using illegal techniques through VoIP calling, and thus causing wrongful loss to the government exchequer and wrongful gain to themselves. They were cheating innocent customers on the pretext of solving their queries. They also threatened the customers by telling them that their social security cards/numbers were hacked,” added the DCP.
Explaining the modus operandi, DCP Sathiyasundaram said that the fraudsters used to send a fictitious message to the mobile and e-mails of unsuspecting customer, mentioning the deposit of USD 1,000 to their accounts. When customers called to enquire about the deposit, the accused allegedly informed them that their social security number was hacked and asked them to purchase gift cards to restore it.
{{/usCountry}}Explaining the modus operandi, DCP Sathiyasundaram said that the fraudsters used to send a fictitious message to the mobile and e-mails of unsuspecting customer, mentioning the deposit of USD 1,000 to their accounts. When customers called to enquire about the deposit, the accused allegedly informed them that their social security number was hacked and asked them to purchase gift cards to restore it.
{{/usCountry}}“Once the victims purchased the gift cards, worth a minimum USD 99, the accused immediately redeemed it and diverted it to their account... We have initiated legal action against the owner of the premises for allowing such illegal activities and violating DDMA’s Covid guidelines. Accordingly, proceedings have also been initiated to seal the premises as per law,” said Sathiyasundaram.
Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.
Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.