The CBI has initiated a probe against 18 people from across India, including 11 from Gujarat, for allegedly duping US citizens through fake call centres.
After extensive investigation, the CBI carried out searches at 32 locations in cities like Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Visakhapatnam last week after registering a case against 22 persons.
According to the CBI FIR, the accused include Divyang Rawal of New Naroda who runs businesses in Visakhapatnam and Pune, his partner Karthik Patel from New Ranip, Takshil Shah and Sahil Vanzara from Naroda, Akash Shankhala from Odhav and Teerth Patel from Dhansura in Aravalli.
Other accused named in the FIR are Vikas Nimar of Nana Chiloda, who runs a business in Visakhapatnam with his associate Hitesh Vijayvargiya, Pritesh Patel of Khodiyar, Irfan Ansari of Vatva and Ashmat Shaikh, a resident of Ramol.
The FIR reveals that since June 2024, Rawal and others in connivance with co-conspirators have been running call centres in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam and Pune under the garb of IT companies.
During the searches, the CBI seized crucial digital evidence and incriminating material including 951 electronic devices, mobile phones and laptops, including financial data, communication records and evidence linked to cybercrime networks.
The officials also recovered Rs 58.45 lakh in cash, locker keys and three luxury vehicles. According to a CBI official, 26 prime suspects have been arrested so far — 10 from Pune, five from Hyderabad and 11 from Visakhapatnam. Investigation and questioning of other employees involved in illegal call center operations continues.
The accused are accused of duping several US citizens. In one case, on July 28, a US man was told he had a criminal investigation underway, and the U.S. Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was notified of suspicious transactions in his bank account.
The victim was duped and the fraudsters were transferred 20,000 US dollars. Similarly, on July 11, another US citizen was fraudulently forced to transfer USD 20,000, while on July 23, yet another victim ended up depositing USD 15,000 worth of cryptocurrency into the fraudsters’ crypto wallets.
The group conducted a massive tech-enabled financial crime campaign targeting US citizens by posing as a technical support service provider. They gained unauthorised access to the victims’ computer systems and bank accounts using remote access software. The victims were falsely told that their computers had been hacked, their identities stolen, or suspicious transactions had occurred in their bank accounts.
The scamsters often claimed that suspicious orders were placed through Amazon in the name of victims or that they were under surveillance by law enforcement. They persuaded victims to transfer money to accounts controlled by fraudsters, purchase international gift cards and share codes, or withdraw money from their bank accounts and deposit them into cryptocurrency ATMs or crypto wallets.
The victims were misled into believing that these actions were necessary to protect their bank accounts.
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