The Noida police busted a call centre that was indulged in duping people from the United States. The police said that they have arrested 84 people, including 36 women, after a raid at a call centre on charges of duping US citizens of crores of rupees by pretending to be American government officials. The accused targeted them and gained their trust by using a database of about five lakh US people that had their names, contact information, and some financial information, they added.
Speaking to the media, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Harish Chander said that the raid was conducted at the call centre located in Sector 6, which has a capacity of 150 desktops, on Wednesday evening (August 23). He said a police team swung into action after receiving inputs of such illegal operations being carried out from a facility during the night.
Call centre functioned during night
“It's a large call centre. We have arrested 84 people, including women. The centre functioned during the night,” Chander said, adding that the call centre was used two to three times a week and in one night alone, the gang would make Rs 25 lakh to Rs 30 lakh. The DCP also stated that they had been operating for around four months now from the facility in Noida.
The officer claimed that two important individuals who are thought to be the brains behind this call centre have been identified but are still at large. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Interpol have both been formally notified, and the US embassy has also been alerted, the police added. Regarding the gang's method of operation, DCP Chander claimed that they got in touch with US citizens by using voicemails, in which the callers would frighten the trusting citizens by claiming that their "social security number," a special identification number provided by the government, had been "compromised."
Gang's modus operandi
“The gang would then tell the US citizens that for assistance in fixing the problem, they should press 1 on their phones after which the call would land at their call centre in Noida. Using software, these people talked to them and shared their personal details, further convincing them that they are government officials,” he said.
Once trapped, the gang would tell the gullible people that they can use the help of “US Marshals” to get rid of the problem. If people agreed, they were put in touch with “US Marshalls”, who again would be the gang members disguising themselves as American government officials, the DCP added. “Eventually the US citizens were asked to make payments in online transfers, through coupon cards of Apple, or as in some cases, even through cryptocurrency like Bitcoin,” the officer said.
FIR registered
The police said they have seized Rs 20 lakh cash from the call centre which was to be disbursed among the workers in the form of their monthly salary. The police have seized 150 computer sets from the site for which teams of the forensic and the cyber departments were also engaged. An FIR in connection with the case has been lodged at Phase 1 police station and further legal proceedings are underway, the officials said.
(With PTI inputs)
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