Call centre used to dupe foreigners busted; frauds amount to at least Rs 70 crore, say cops

In the three years of their operation, the gang has duped nearly 3,500 citizens of the US and other countries of at least Rs 70 crore, said Anyesh Roy, the deputy commissioner of police (cyber crime unit). In one instance, they had managed to dupe an individual of $45,000 (over Rs 33 lakh), the officer said.

The Delhi Police on Saturday busted a fake call centre in Peeragarhi and arrested 42 employees, who used to dupe foreigners by posing as officials of law enforcement agencies in phone calls.

The Delhi Police on Saturday busted a fake call centre in Peeragarhi and arrested 42 employees. (HT Archives. Representative image)

In the three years of their operation, the gang has duped nearly 3,500 citizens of the US and other countries of at least Rs 70 crore, said Anyesh Roy, the deputy commissioner of police (cyber crime unit). In one instance, they had managed to dupe an individual of $45,000 (over Rs 33 lakh), the officer said.

The police said the employees were offered heavy incentives to keep persisting with the potential victims, by forcing to either “pay up” or face an immediate arrest for “imaginary offences.”

For instance, the caller who made the $45,000 deal was offered an incentive of Rs 90,000 and the team leader and the deal “closer” got Rs 1,80,000 each, apart from their monthly salaries, said police.

The officer said that the modus operandi was to call up foreigners and talk to them in their local accent. The caller would pose as an officer of the law enforcement agencies, such as the Social Security Administration, the Drug Enforcement Administration or the US Marshal Services, depending on the country the victim belonged to.

“They would tell the victims that they were found involved in a crime. For example, they would tell someone that their bank account was found to be making a financial transaction with a drug cartel in Colombia,” said the officer.

The victims would then be threatened with an immediate arrest and given two choices. “The first option was to be immediately arrested, have their bank accounts frozen and assets seized before being able to pursue legal help. The other option was to go for a dispute resolution, which was quicker and simpler,” the officer said.

Those who opted for the second option had the choice to either convert all the money in their bank accounts to Bitcoin or gift cards and transfer the same to the callers’ accounts. “There was a long written script which the callers followed. These calls often went on for four to five hours, during which the victim wouldn’t be allowed to disconnect the call,” the DCP said.

If the caller — who was the lowest level employee in the hierarchy — managed to trap someone, his or her superiors would take over the call to finalise the deal. The new employees were usually hired through referrals of existing employees, but not before a rigorous interview, the DCP said.

The employees’ salaries ranged from Rs 20,000, for a recruit, to Rs 75,000 for shift managers. “There were also New Year and Christmas bonuses, as well as holiday packages, offered for the employees,” the DCP said.

The officer said that 90 digital devices and Rs 4.5 lakh in cash have been recovered so far, even as the police continue to probe the case.