(Photo is representational only)
GURUGRAM: Three call centers raided and seven people arrested on Friday for conducting fraudulent operations. Two centers were in one building in Faridabad and the third one was in Gurugram.
Since last year eight call centers in Gurugram and two in Faridabad have been raided. All of which were operating customer service and law enforcement impersonation scams.
Faridabad
The two centers raided in Faridabad were sending messages via IVR to US citizens and impersonating law enforcement officials. The scammers used a 5 page script to attempt to coerce the victim into purchasing $100-$500 in gift cards. Many US citizens paid up fearing legal action.
Inderjeet Yadav, of CM flying squad, said they raided SRS Tower in Sector 31, Faridabad, on Friday and found two call centres in one building.
Five people were arrested —
- Mohit Singh (24), from Raja Garden, Old Faridabad,
- Dev Vashisht (31), from Faridabad,
- Prakash (26), from Ucha Gaon Faridabad,
- Asif (31), from Raja Garden Faridabad, and
- Lima (32) from New Delhi.
An FIR has been lodged under Section 420 (cheating) of the IPC and sections 66D and 75 of the IT Act at the Sector 31 police station.
Apparently these call centers have been operating since March.
Gurugram
Officials raided a center located in the Spaze iTech Park on Sohna Road in Gurgaon When the officials entered the center they found 8 individuals speaking with victims from abroad.
Officials say that 2 youths are responsible for operating the scams since April. The individuals are now in custody.
- Paras Bajaj, from Sector 67
- Ravinder Kumar, from Sushant Lok-1
The pair of scammers had made a deal with a scam vendor named Deepak, who provided the forwarded calls from US citizens at Rs500 per call. Using the same Amazon scripts many of us heard before, these scammers would gain access to victims computers and then convince the victim to pay in gift cards.
After Ravinder received the gift cards on WhatsApp he would launder the money. He would then deposit the money into the scammers account, minus a 20% commission fee.
A case has been lodged under Section 420 (cheating) of the IPC and sections 66D and 75 of the IT Act at Cyber police station of Gurgaon.
Gurgaon Scam center busts:
2020: 15 call centers
2019: 5 call centers
2018: 9 call centers