India busts fake call center targeting UK, Australia citizens
RANCHI, INDIA — In a significant crackdown on international cybercrime, authorities in Ranchi, India have dismantled a sophisticated operation targeting citizens of the United Kingdom and Australia.
The cybercriminals, operating under the guise of intelligence agencies, were apprehended following a raid by the Cyber Crime Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at a fake call center located in Ranchi.
The gang, which had been renting a large office space, utilized internet calling software to pose as members of the Intelligence Agency, exploiting email remote desktop applications to carry out their scams.
They would send messages to individuals in the UK and Australia claiming that the recipients’ computers were infected with a virus, followed by phone calls in English and Australian accents to deceive the victims further.
According to CID DG Anurag Gupta, the criminals employed various tactics, including threats and intimidation, to cheat people out of money.
During the raid, authorities recovered data pertaining to more than 200,000 citizens from Australia and the UK. The CID disclosed that the gang purchased this data for Rs 20,000 (US$240) per day, which included comprehensive details of individuals facilitating their deceitful activities.
Investigations revealed that the masterminds behind the operation, Ekramul Ansari and Ravikant, had previously engaged in similar fraudulent activities in the city of Gorakhpur before setting up their operation in Ranchi.
The CID also uncovered that the gang used money transfer gateways to funnel the illicit proceeds from Australia and the UK to India.
The gang also targets young individuals as employees, offering them jobs and training them to memorize dialogues in foreign languages as part of their scamming process.
India continues its crackdown on fraudulent call centers, with the police conducting several raids across multiple states.
Last November, India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided several fake call centers across the country that are duping American citizens through scams.
Searches at 24 locations in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Gujarat led to seizing Rs 2.2 crore (US$263,917) in cash and evidence.
Meanwhile, police said that they had busted over 255 fraudulent call centers in Noida and Greater Noida that had been duping foreign nationals for the past six years.
