The Crime Branch has raided a fraudulent call centre that targeted US-based citizens. The illegal network was run from two offices on Ahmedabad’s Shivranjani Cross Road.
The police have already arrested 13 people and a suspect from Maharashtra, besides seizing Rs 2.18 lakhs of unaccounted cash. Additionally, the police seized 13 laptops, 14 mobiles, routers, and lane switches. An investigation is being conducted under the provisions of the IT Act.
The Vibes of India understands that the call centre, which operated on a large scale, would con Americans into paying in dollars, citing technical issues in delivering their Amazon products. They would get the leads of credulous customers from someone named Kevin in Mumbai. Kevin would feed the data into his laptop using a popular Open-Source Contact Centre Solution software.
Vishal Shah, the mastermind behind the syndicate, would use the database to defraud US citizens under the pretext of resolving issues with their Amazon deliveries. They claimed to have the expertise in hardware to get the job done. Vishal’s call centre network could even access the bank balance of unsuspecting citizens.
Vishal had developed a well-trained team designated as callers, with monthly salaries ranging from Rs 20,000 to 25,000. They would even get details of their Apple Pay gift cards and Walmart cards. The amount from these cards, anything between $200 and $500, would be processed by Johnny, a key man in their network.
Johnny would charge a 40% commission as processing fees and dispatch the remaining amount through courier. With a fake American accent, he would interact with gullible clients through Textnow.
This is not the only instance of call centre rackets busted in the city. In February last year, illegal call centres were raided in Vastrapur and Vastral.
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