The call center ran a fake Amazon technical support call center in South Delhi – Now, 26 of its “employees” have been arrested.
The Delhi Police have shut down a fake call center alleged to have been operational for the past seven months and scamming US citizens.
Allegedly, the call center employees duped US citizens by posing themselves as Amazon’s technical support team. On average, they cheated 6 US citizens daily. The call center was operating from Sultanpur, located on the outskirts of South Delhi.
About the Operation
Authorities were tipped off about this call center’s activities, after which they started monitoring its operations and mounted surveillance devices around the premises.
When the police raided the call center, they discovered an office setup. And when asked, the employees couldn’t produce any documents or license to run a call center.
Approximately $5,25,000 Extorted
It is claimed that the employees cheated US nationals and raked in at least INR 4 crore/USD 5,25,000 so far. Using illicit tactics such as VOIP calling, they deceived the legal international long-distance gateways.
SEE: Man hacks Indian tech support scam call center; leaks CCTV footage
The accused extorted Amazon users by claiming that their Amazon IDs were hacked. When the concerned customers called back to learn more about the hack, they showed them a fake repair of their Amazon customer ID via the AnyDesk app. The Amazon customer would pay up via Target gift cards to reclaim their account, which the employees redeemed later.
All Employees in Police Custody
The call center was run by 26 employees, five of which were females. All of them have been arrested for cheating more than 1,250 US nationals.
Moreover, according to officials, they have seized 29 computers from the call center along with two internet switches, two modems, and several other accessories, revealed DCP South District Inspector Atul Tyagi, who was in charge of the operation.
The mobile phones recovered from the accused contained numerous US-based mobile numbers in a WhatsApp group, authorities noted.
“Further investigation is being carried out to unearth the whole gang of cheaters,” police officials stated.
Second Fake Call Center Busted within a Fortnight
This isn’t the first-of-its-kind operation against a fake call center operating from India and duping US citizens. In fact, it is a widespread practice in the country, and within only two weeks span, several call centers have been seized for fraudulent activities.
SEE: Indian police & Microsoft busts tech support scam centers
Reportedly, Delhi Police arrested 95 individuals previously, including 19 females and two minor boys, for running two fake call centers in Delhi’s Kirti Nagar and Mangolpuri areas.
According to authorities, the accused contacted US nationals impersonating the country’s Social Security Administration officials and threatened to revoke their Social Security Number if they don’t pay them.
In total, 82 computers, 5 laptops, 84 mobile phones, and 48 ID cards were recovered from these call centers by the Crime Branch officials.
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