Call centre racket: FBI officials arrive in Thane to probe fraud

Investigations revealed that 6,500 US nationals have been cheated so far

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials arrived in Thane on Friday and are scheduled to meet senior officials, including the commissioner of police (Thane) Parambir Singh, in connection with the call centre scam busted at Mira Road, in which US citizens were duped by racketeers posing as officials of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Delta IT Park in Mira Road, which house the call centres. (HT File Photo)

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Sources in the Thane police told HT that they contacted the FBI and informed them about the case as soon as the scam was unearthed.

Investigations revealed that 6,500 US nationals have been cheated so far.

The police are probing the role of US-based agents, who earned 30% commission per victim while their counterparts in Mira Road got 70%.

Police sources said the employees would pose as IRS officials and bully loan defaulters in the US into making payments. The victims would be asked to submit their bank details.The callers would use these details to hack into their accounts and clear the savings. The fraudsters were trained to converse with the defaulters in an American accent. The accused used special software to mask the number they were calling from. The police said the software ensured that the receivers saw a US number on their phones.