E-Paper
Goa Police bust fake call centre, arrest 18 people for duping US citizens
The Crime Branch of the Goa Police arrested 18 people for procuring personal details of the US citizens who had applied for various kinds of loans in their country
The Goa Police have busted a call centre and arrested 18 people for allegedly duping US citizens on the pretext of providing loans, and instead collected ‘processing fees’ from them.
In a raid conducted on Tuesday night, the Crime Branch of the Goa Police arrested 18 people for procuring personal details of the US citizens who had applied for various kinds of loans in their country.
“The accused people called them through a Google voice application installed on their mobile phones and laptops by impersonating as the staff of e-loan companies or merchant cash advance companies. They induced the victims to avail loan amount as per the requirements and pay processing fees/security deposit of 10% on the loan amount to secure the loan,” crime branch superintendent of police Nidhin Valsan said.
After promising to process the loans, the fraudsters would direct the customers to pay the processing fees through online payment mediums such as Google Pay, Apple pay, Walmart or Target Gift cards, which they would then redeem via their agent in the US.
“The duped amount was then transferred by the agent in the US to kingpin Sagar Mehtani in India through hawala transactions. Sagar Mehtani and his wife Bansari Tanavani are the main accused who were operating the fake call centre,” Valsan said.
“During the raid 13 laptops, 13 mobile phones, four modems, four routers, and other accessories worth around ₹15 lakh were seized from the accused,” the police said.
