Delhi Police Bust Alleged International Tech-Support Scam Targeting US Victims
New Delhi — Delhi Police have busted an alleged international call center operating from rented premises in Pitampura and targeting victims in the United States through a tech-support scam, officials said.
The Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations unit arrested or apprehended 11 people, including two women, in connection with the operation.
Police said the group allegedly defrauded victims of about Rs 100 crore. Officers seized Rs 41 lakh in cash, 29 laptops, 25 mobile phones, eight routers and a car during the raid.
The operation followed intelligence gathered by IFSO teams about cybercrime networks operating in Delhi. On Sept. 21, investigators received information about a suspected illegal international call center in the Pitampura area.
Police then raided a property in Shivaji Market, Pitampura Village, where they said 11 people were found operating a call center from the third and fourth floors.
According to investigators, the suspects posed as technical support personnel and targeted people in the United States by claiming their computers or bank accounts had been compromised.
Police said a back-end team would remotely install malware on victims’ computers, causing pop-up messages to appear and instructing them to call a toll-free number for technical assistance.
Calls were allegedly routed to the Pitampura call center through Micro-SIP, a soft-phone application. Agents then followed prepared scripts and falsely told victims that their computers had been infected or compromised, police said.
Victims were persuaded to install UltraViewer software, which allegedly gave the scammers remote access to their computers. They were then told their bank accounts were also at risk.
According to police, victims were transferred to another person posing as a bank official, who contacted them through U.S.-based numbers using Google Voice.
The victims were then allegedly instructed to purchase gift cards, including iTunes, Sephora, Target and Google Pay cards. In some cases, they were persuaded to transfer cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin.
Police said gift-card details were shared through WhatsApp groups with other members of the network and later redeemed or converted into cash.
Investigators also said the suspects used forged communications purportedly issued by the FBI and other U.S. federal agencies to intimidate victims and make the scheme appear legitimate. The callers allegedly used fake names including Williams, Rayan, Sofi, Genny and Alex.
A case was registered at the Special Cell police station under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.
Police identified the accused as Kawal Preet Singh alias Sunny Singh, 43; Prashant Nanda, 29; Akshat Singh alias Shivam, 25; Chitra Narah, 27; Rohan Jairath, 31; Gaurav Saklani, 24; Sachin Ghildiyal alias Sachin Sharma, 26; Irshad Rahman, 22; Navneet alias Naveen, 28; Nigthoujam, 25; and Phebo Wangshu, 27.
Further investigation is underway. (Source: IANS)
