Fake call centre that duped US nationals busted, 20 held
Kulwinder Sandhu
Tribune News Service
Gurugram, August 24
The Gurugram police have busted a fake call centre that allegedly duped US nationals by pretending to offer technical support. A total of 20 persons, including four women, were arrested, a spokesman for the local police confirmed here on Saturday.
The authorities recovered Rs 50,000 in cash, 16 laptops and 25 mobile phones from the call centre premises. Mahender Bajrang Singh, a resident of Kubernagar in Ahmedabad district, Gujarat, was identified as the operator of the centre, which employed several youths.
Assistant Commissioner of Police Priyanshu Diwan said Singh was arrested on-site along with 19 others, including four women. The operation involved collecting money from victims via gift cards ranging from $100 to $500 each.
“Upon receiving the complaint, a team from Gurugram’s Cyber Crime Police raided the call centre and discovered 20 people communicating with US nationals in a typical American-English accent,” Diwan said.
The investigation revealed that the centre was operating without a licence from the Department of Telecommunications.
Those arrested include Ashish Ojha, a resident of Darjeeling (West Bengal), Minlun of Chura Chandpur (Manipur), Vidanwang of Samjiuram (Nagaland), Vikhombou Chawang of Kanglatonbi (Manipur), Amor Abonmai of Khunkhu Naga (Manipur), Namchumbo of Samjiuram (Nagaland), Laboi Haokip of Motbung (Manipur), Athihari Lohri of Karong (Manipur), K Lalbikjuali of Serkawan (Mizoram), Minbaite of New Lambulin (Manipur), Shriya of Udhampur (J&K), Palak of Ramban (J&K), Mahendra Bajrang Singh of Kubenagar (Gujarat), Manish Kumar of Tappal, Aligarh (UP), Maobe Sangtam of Old Mong (Nagaland), Akele of Dimapur (Nagaland), Ramesh Gurung of Nepal, Monu Kumar of Tilak Nagar (Delhi), Vinod Sharma of Nepal and Shiv Bahadur Thapa of Nepal.
The fraudsters used to send pop-up advertisements on foreign nationals’ computers, directing them to a toll-free number. Calls to this number were routed to their call centre via VOIP technology. The scammers, posing as technicians from a reputed company, would instruct victims to download the “Ultra Viewer” application to remotely access their computers. They would then falsely claim that the systems were hacked and convince victims to purchase gift cards. The barcodes of these gift cards were sent to their associates to redeem the funds.
A case has been filed against the accused under Sections 318(4) and 319 of the BNS, and Sections 43, 66, 66D, and 75 of the IT Act, the ACP added.
