Gujarat: Fake call center targeting US citizens busted, three held
The police has busted a fake call center being operated from Ahmedabad and targeting US citizens on the pretext of providing them quick loans, and arrested three persons in this connection, officials said on Monday. Based on a specific tip-off, a cybercrime team raided the call center located in the Jagatpur area on Sunday and nabbed the trio.
Accused lured unsuspecting Americans by offering them quick loans
The three nabbed have been identified as Bharatsinh Mandola (35), Akhilesh Nair (23), and Ajay Sonavane (28), all residents of Ahmedabad. The accused used to call unsuspecting Americans by identifying themselves as representatives of the "USA Speedy Cash Loan Center" and lured people by offering them quick loans, a release by the cybercrime branch said.
A US telecom number reflected on the receiver's screen
To win the trust of people and project their firm as genuine, they used to make calls using specialized software, and persons on the other side would see a US telecom number on their phone screen rather than an Indian number, it said. Once the victims expressed willingness, the accused would tell them that the loan couldn't be disbursed because of less credit score.
People were asked to deposit transaction fees
They would tell the victims to first deposit transaction fees to increase their credit score and get the loan, the release said. For the payment of transaction fees, they used to ask the victims to share the 16 digit number of gift cards of various e-commerce companies and then encashed those gift cards from India, it said.
Three accused were booked under relevant provisions of IT Act
The police came to know that Mandola had roped in the other two accused and started the illegal call center at his residence in the Jagatpur area of the city. The three accused were booked on charges of cheating, criminal conspiracy, and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, the police said.
