12 August,2023 07:24 PM IST | Mumbai | Apoorva Agashe
Representative image/iStock
The Mumbai police have busted a fake call centre from where a gang duped people across India on the pretext of offering cheap tour and travel packages.
The cops have arrested 12 people in the matter and seized 28 laptops and 40 mobile phones from the bogus call centre. The fake call center was operating from a commercial building at Andheri's Marol area.
According to the police, "The victims are from various countries which includes Canada. All accused are well educated and young."
"The police are yet to ascertain the number of victims in the case and the money they lost to the gang," the official added.
On Friday, the crime branch raided the call centre, which was being run at Mittal building at Marol.
The police found 12 men and a woman working there. Citing the probe, the official said, "The gang would place advertisements on social media offering tour and travel packages at much cheaper rates. Once a victim showed interest and made inquiries, they would shift the entire communication to WhatsApp."
"In the name of tickets and other bookings, the gang members would collect money from their victims. They would also send fake air tickets and payment receipts to the victims on WhatsApp to gain their confidence," the official said.
The official further stated that after extracting money, the gang members would block the victims' numbers or change their numbers.
"Following the raid on Friday, the crime branch seized 28 laptops, 40 mobile phones, two routers and some documents," the official said.
According to sources, the accused also paid Rs two crore to Google so that they could feature an advertisement on the platform. The accused were running the fake call center in Mumbai for more than four months and it is suspected that they ran a similar call center in Delhi.
IPS Raj Tilak Raushan said "All 12 accused have been apprehended by the police. We are investigating the role of one female suspect in this matter. We request citizens to check the authenticity of a website or a message before making any kind of payment to avoid such instances."
" The accused are well aware of the crime they committed and we suspect more people might be involved." He added.
A case has been registered under sections 420 ( Cheating), 419 (Cheating by personation), 34 ( Common intention) and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the IT Act.
Further investigation is underway. The court has granted police custody till August 14.
