Noida: Cops unearth bogus call centre duping US nationals on pretext of fixing malware; 32 held
A sham call center was busted by the cops in Greater Noida for cheating the US citizens on the pretext of fixing malware in their computers. A total of 32 people were arrested including students.
Noida: A bogus call center was busted by Gautam Buddha Nagar (Noida) police, seemingly under operation out of a commercial building in the Tech Zone IV area of Greater Noida (West) for the past year. A total of 32 people, including college-goers and graduates, have been arrested for cheating US citizens on the pretext of fixing malware on their computers.
The team, working under the garb of a live cricket commentary website called ‘www.cricplex.com’, ran the call center where US nationals would make calls over the internet to toll-free numbers from abroad. The team in Noida would talk to the callers in an American accent, convincing the complainants that they can fix malware issues in their computer systems all the way in the USA for a particular monetary charge.
Baljeet Singh, the in-charge of the Noida Police Cyber Cell, said, “American internet users would suddenly see their systems receive pop-ups that their computers or laptops may shut down and direct users to a toll-free number to call an expert to fix the problem. The problem will actually be a minor bug, which would be implanted by international cybercriminals,”
He added that the cybercriminals located in Noida would simply purchase certain numbers from the international players, who would direct the incoming calls to the center in India. The accused, who would seem to be a part of the global racket, would claim to resolve the malware issue for about USD 300-500 once such a call landed in the Indian office.
As per cyber cell officers, the accused would direct the potential targets towards purchasing Google Play cards worth USD 300-500 or make a wire transfer from their US-based account to India.
Deepak Agarwal, the owner of the call center, had been making profits of Rs 40-50 lakh after paying the monthly salaries of the employees – mentioned Yogendra Singh, ACP-2 (central Noida).
He said, “The accused callers were being paid a minimum of Rs 20,000 a month while a manager Parvinder was getting Rs 1.25 lakh. Agarwal, who is on the run, was making USD 3K-4K daily.”
News Credit: Times Now News
