Close X
Wednesday, November 6, 2024
ADVT 
India

126 Arrested In Biggest Noida Fake Call Centre Bust In INDIA-US-CANADA Op

Darpan News Desk IANS, 24 Dec, 2018 07:39 AM

    A group of officials from the FBI of the US and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police flew down to India in July. They called on the chief of the police in Noida in a meeting coordinated by the Interpol.

    The details of the closed-door meeting held at the police headquarters in Gautam Buddh Nagar never emerged in the public domain until a series of raids were reported in the months that followed after a massive crackdown began on fake call centres that duped foreigners.
    On Friday, the police arrested 126 people in its biggest action so far against a fake call centre operating from a quaint office in Noida's Sector 63, a commercial hub, which has also seen similar illegal, fake call centres thriving.


    The call centre solicited money up to $3,500 from US citizens by intimidating them with arrest by the FBI over "stolen" social security numbers, a unique nine-digit pin number given to American residents, the officials said.


    Over a dozen such raids took place in October and November too, when fake call centres targeting foreigners, mostly American and Canadian citizens, solicited money to fix computers attacked by virus sent by them or by offering "tax benefits".


    "Between July 20 and December 21 this year, 25 fake call centres have been busted after they were found running dubious operations," senior police officer Ajay Pal Sharma told.

     


    "Close to 300 people have been arrested in the raids, over 400 computer systems seized while frauds worth crores, including those targeting foreigners, were unearthed during the process," Mr Sharma said.


    Call centre hub


    Noida, adjoining Delhi, in western Uttar Pradesh's Gautam Buddh Nagar district, was one of the biggest beneficiaries in the early 2000s, when it found a place on global map as a new "call centre hub", while India replaced China with lower manpower costs for the booming industry.


    There have been fake call centres - which offered "cheap holiday packages" to exotic locations like Goa and Himachal Pradesh - which duped several Indians of lakhs of rupees, officials aware of the probes in cyber fraud cases told news agency PTI.


    But a newer trend revealed how foreigners were becoming more vulnerable to such fake call centres.


    "It is easier to target someone sitting in the US or Canada because chances are less of them approaching the police for an amount of money they would consider 'less'," the official said.


    The easy availability of data and details of individuals has also added to the vulnerability of people being targeted for cyber frauds. With more personal information, picked up from employment websites, mobile apps, the callers have in cases even claimed to be representatives of tech giants.


    For instance, on the intervening night of November 22 and November 23, eight fake call centres were busted in simultaneous raids in Noida and Greater Noida and 23 people arrested for duping foreign nationals.


    "These fake call centres were not linked to each other but had a similar modus operandi of sending malware to computers in the US, Canada, and other foreign countries and then approach them as being representatives of companies such as Microsoft, Apple and solicit money to solve their problems," Mr Sharma said.


    Several of the accused arrested in cases where foreigners are duped hail from the northeastern states, such as Nagaland, with officials saying their recruiters preferred them "for their English accent, which made them very authentic sounding on tele-calls".


    Now, the police have gathered clues and are trying to arrest the masterminds behind several of these call centres with global links including those in the US, China, and Dubai.


    "We are now following the trail on how the money from abroad was being moved to India. We have got details and are acting on the inputs while coordinating with our counterparts abroad," Mr Sharma said.


    On the future course of action, he said, "We will ensure that the offenders are charged under the stringent Gangsters Act or the National Security Act because what they have done is not only criminal but has also brought disrepute to the country at world level."

     

    MORE India ARTICLES

    Delhi High Court Grants Bail To Flight Attendant Anissia Batra's In-Laws

    Delhi High Court Grants Bail To Flight Attendant Anissia Batra's In-Laws
    39-year-old Anissia Batra, who was married to Mayank Singhvi for two years, worked with a German airline. She allegedly jumped from the terrace of her house in Panchsheel Park in south Delhi on July 13.

    Delhi High Court Grants Bail To Flight Attendant Anissia Batra's In-Laws

    Geeta, Who Returned From Pak, Will Never Be Sent Back, Says Sushma Swaraj

    Geeta, Who Returned From Pak, Will Never Be Sent Back, Says Sushma Swaraj
    Sushma Swaraj said DNA tests were carried out on eight couples who had claimed that they were Geeta's parents but the efforts did not bear fruit.

    Geeta, Who Returned From Pak, Will Never Be Sent Back, Says Sushma Swaraj

    38-Year-Old Woman Stabbed Over Quarrel In Delhi's Rohini, Say Police

    38-Year-Old Woman Stabbed Over Quarrel In Delhi's Rohini, Say Police
    A 38-year-old woman was stabbed allegedly by a known person outside her beauty parlour following a quarrel in K N Katju Marg area in Delhi's Rohini district, the police said Tuesday.

    38-Year-Old Woman Stabbed Over Quarrel In Delhi's Rohini, Say Police

    Cat 'Feeding' On Body At Coimbatore Government Hospital Sparks Outrage

    Cat 'Feeding' On Body At Coimbatore  Government Hospital Sparks Outrage
    The woman was admitted to the hospital on November 16 after she was found lying at the bus stand at Mettupalayam in Coimbatore district.

    Cat 'Feeding' On Body At Coimbatore Government Hospital Sparks Outrage

    Court Awards Death Penalty In 1984 Anti-Sikh Massacre Case

    Court Awards Death Penalty In 1984 Anti-Sikh Massacre Case
    In the second such conviction leading to capital punishment in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, a trial court awarded the death penalty to a man after holding him guilty of murder while another person was given life imprisonment in the case.

    Court Awards Death Penalty In 1984 Anti-Sikh Massacre Case

    India To Install High-Powered Telescope For Devotees To Get Better View Of Kartarpur Sahib

    India To Install High-Powered Telescope For Devotees To Get Better View Of Kartarpur Sahib
      The government on Monday said it would install a high-powered telescope on the Indo-Pakistan border to enable devotees across India to get a better view of Kartarpur Sahib.

    India To Install High-Powered Telescope For Devotees To Get Better View Of Kartarpur Sahib