Ahmedabad: 7 held for running illegal call centre targeting US citizens
In this news:
Key takeaways
- Naroda police arrested seven individuals operating an illegal call centre in Ahmedabad.
- The suspects posed as US bank lawyers offering low-cost loan settlements to steal credit card details.
- Part of the stolen funds was laundered into Indian currency via Bitcoin and Telegram groups.
Ahmedabad: Naroda police have busted an allegedly illegal call centre operating from a shop in Hanspura and arrested seven people, including two women, for targeting US citizens by posing as bank lawyers and offering low-cost loan settlements.
The raid was conducted at a shop on the first floor of Sahitya Arcade after police received a tip-off. Police seized seven laptops, eight mobile phones and other electronic equipment worth around Rs 2.6 lakh during the raid.
Operation details and suspect arrests
Zone 4 DCP Atul Bansal said, “The accused had sent bulk messages to around 10 lakh people, and more than 200 are suspected to have fallen victim so far. The fraud amount is estimated at around $50 to $100 per victim.”
Those arrested are: Jignesh Zalahar, Devang Sapkal, Sushil Tomar, Dev Vaishnav, Imtihehen Charmyard, Priti Patel and Vaishali Vedhani. According to police, Zalahar, the alleged mastermind, had obtained data containing email addresses of US citizens and distributed leads among his employees. The accused allegedly sent scripted emails, posing as lawyers representing various banks and offering to settle loans at reduced amounts.
Method of fraud and Bitcoin money laundering
Once a recipient responded, Zalahar would allegedly take over the conversation and persuade the victim to share credit card details on the promise of a cheaper loan settlement. The details were then allegedly used to siphon off money from victims’ accounts.
Investigators said the stolen money was routed through different vendors. Around 50% of the proceeds was allegedly received by Zalahar in Bitcoin through a crypto wallet. Police said the accused contacted Telegram groups to convert the cryptocurrency into Indian currency and later collected the money through angadia channels.
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