The cyber crime cell in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh, has exposed a fake call centre and taken five people into custody. Three of those arrested are young women, said to be between 19 and 21 years of age. The call centre preyed on unsuspecting people under the pretext of arranging jobs for them. According to information available, fraud was carried out here by luring people with the promise of online jobs at well-known companies such as Amul, Amazon, Infosys, Flipkart, Suzuki, Parle and Cipla.
How the Fraud Was Carried Out
During questioning, the police learnt that the gang would buy the data of candidates searching for private jobs from websites such as Fresherworld.com and Shine.com, and then have these very people called from its call centre. The moment a candidate showed interest in a job, the call would be transferred to one of the gang members. The candidate would then be lured with the promise of a well-paying job at companies like Amul, Amazon, Infosys, Flipkart, Mankind, Suzuki, Parle and Cipla. After this, fake joining letters, approval letters and registration letters of these companies were sent via WhatsApp, and money was transferred into fake bank accounts in the name of registration fees, gate-pass charges and interview charges.
What Was Recovered in the Raid
During the operation, the police recovered 11 keypad mobile phones, 02 Android mobile phones, one laptop, 102 work data sheets, and 26 fake joining letters, approval letters and registration letters, among other items, that were being used for fraud at the call centre. When the numbers and IMEI of the recovered keypad mobile phones were checked on the NCRP portal, it was found that online complaints from across the country had been registered against these numbers and IMEIs, in which complainants had been cheated in the name of arranging online jobs in big companies.
Who Was Arrested
The police have arrested the gang's manager Jeeshan Khan, team leader and caller Satish Pal, caller Sonali Chaurasia, caller Shivani Verma and Neelu Verma. More than 60 online complaints linked to fraud worth lakhs of rupees have been filed on cyber police portals in different states against the mobile numbers, IMEIs and bank accounts being used by the accused at the call centre. The police are now trying to get in touch with all these complainants.
