Continued from page 01 MUMBAI and Thane police busted six such call centres in Thane, Mira Road and Bhayandar in 2019 but the action clearly seems inadequate as they continue to flourish.
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As part of a week- long investigation, mid- day penetrated the system to bust a phishing company. Reporter Shirish Vaktania managed to get a job at a Thane- based company u2018 Stage Door Communication Private Limitedu2019 ( SDCPL) that employs at least 300 people, including 200 callers and has a monthly turnover of R 1.5 crore. The companyu2019s callers target citizens across states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, etc.
Many donu2019t approach the police due to the tedious procedures, and those who do are either turned away or made to run from pillar to post.
The group was trained to sell insurance policy for two days before being deployed as callers.
Callers offer loans in the name of Bajaj Finance, which has no clue about SDCPL. As Shirish became a known face at the call centre, serving staff revealed to him that the company is actually running a phishing scam by offering loans at zero per cent interest.
Operating via landline phones, each caller has to make 250 calls during a nine- hour shift.
Like any corporate sales team, the phishing industry too offers perks.
Targets and perks Each caller has a target of R 70,000 per month. A group of 35 employees who achieved a target of R 3 lakh each in two months, were taken for a three- day trip to Goa last Thursday. A new target of R 6 lakh in two months promises a trip to Bangkok.
Interview, training, induction Vaktania visited SDCPLu2019s office at road no. 22, Wagle Industrial Estate, Thane West on Friday, February 7 at 3 pm for an interview.
Two HR employees, Tejashree and an unidentified male, separately interviewed Vaktania, who said that he was told about the job by his friend, Diwakar Sharma. They tested his knowledge about insurance and asked basic personal details. He was hired for a u2018 sales jobu2019 at a monthly salary of R 10,000 and told to report on Monday, February 10 at 9.30 am.
During a two- day training session, assistant manager Sagarika instructed trainees about the companyu2019s two products u2014 insurance and holiday packages, calling process, identifying customers based on age, need, income and capability loans repayment.
u201c You must speak politely with customers. We accept payment via Google Pay and net banking. We send customers documents and get their signatures via WhatsApp. They are sent a receipt and insurance policy details via email or WhatsApp,u201d Sagarika told the new recruits.
She claimed SDCPL has an IRDA ( Insurance Regulatory Development Authority of India) licence, which authorises it to sell insurance.
On the floor SDCPL did not allow employees to use mobile phones on the floor. The floor boasts of rows of callers, 20 in each, training room, HR cabin, sever room, backup office, a pantry and washrooms. The callers are managed by team leaders who give them targets and even take meetings where they abuse team members for low performance. mid- day caught one such senior manager abusing his juniors on a sting video. u201c Tumhari layki nahin hai ye kaam karne ki. Bahar jaake bhik mango isse accha,u201d he is heard saying.
On Vaktaniau2019s first day u2018 at worku2019, team leader Rahul divided the new recruits into groups and made them observe how callers work. While all callers are aware of the fraud, mid- day also learnt that police raids were conducted twice last month but apparently, the matter was u2018 managed with senior police officersu2019. Incentives for crossing the R 70,000 mark are credited to callers along with their salary.
Caller Dhammadeep Awthare explained to a trainee how taking at least R 20,000, even if the EMI is higher, is enough, as according to him, u201c Ek da customer ne paise bharle ki to faslau201d ( once the customer pays, he is trapped).
To cover its tracks, SDCPL ensures its landline number cannot be traced. However, mobile numbers used to send and receive documents are traceable. At the end of every day, team leaders remove the batteries of all cell phones and take them home. The handsets are locked in an officer drawer to prevent callers from alerting the customers.
Gaining their trust Callers ask customers to provide Aadhaar and PAN cards, citing legitimate bank accounts, and sending images of fake IDs that boast the name of Bajaj Finance.
u201c Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Alliance are different companies.
Bajaj Finance only gives loans.
I have sent you a picture of my ID card which also has the officeu2019s Goregaon address,u201d Awthare is heard telling a customer.
The untraceable landline numbers and a fake company address add to the callersu2019 confidence while convincing customers.
u201c Why would we involve a bank if we were fraudsters? Sir, if you are not comfortable with online payments, we will send an executive to you to collect cash,u201d said a caller on phone.
Customers are assured of a visit by a company executive to get documents signed.
However, the executive turns up offering holiday packages, which is again, a farce. Calls by customers to raise questions either go unanswered or the response that the u2018 concerned executive has been transferredu2019. Reporteru2019s call list During a pep talk, a senior manager Namdeo motivated employees with the prospect of international holidays. u201c You must have understood now how to talk to customers. A bunch of us are going for a picnic to Goa. Team leaders will keep an eye on you. Approach people on phone, do not leave your desks. We will take you for a holiday to Bangkok if you perform well,u201d Namdeo said during the meeting where he also explained incentive slabs.
On Friday, which was Vaktaniau2019s sixth and last day at the office, he called 250 people from a call list to generate business leads. Two customers who Vaktania spoke to u2014 Jalindar Dighe from Shirdi who runs a dairy business and Anant Potraje, who runs a bakery in Pune u2014 needed a R 5 lakh loan and were willing to pay R 50,000. mid- day did not share their details with SDCPL. The other side mid- day reporter Diwakar Sharma, posing as a customer, contacted SDCPL on their mobile phone number on February 14. Sticking to the modus operandi, an employee, Reena, asked for a copy of the PAN and Aadhaar card, bank account details or a crossed cheque.
u201c First we need to check if the loan can be granted to you,u201d Reena told the reporter.
u201c This is a mortgage policy loan which means you purchase a policy and keep it mortgaged with Bajaj Finance as security. If Bajaj approves a loan of R 5 lakh and I die in the next six months or one year, Bajaj Finance wonu2019t suffer a loss as it recovers the loan amount through the policy,u201d explained Reena.
What Bajaj Finserv says Bajaj Finserv used to be called Bajaj Finance. The Bajaj Groupu2019s Vice Chairman Sanjeev Bajaj told mid- day, u201c Our call centre is in Pune. It seems this company is defrauding people using Bajaj Financeu2019s name. If there is evidence available, we will send our investigators to probe.u201d Bajaj Finance Ltd u2014 Bajaj Finservu2019s Counsel, Babu Rao, said, u201c Bajaj Finserv never asks its customers for money. In the past, we have approached police against such scams. Our website also has a cautionary message about such fraudsters.u201d Bajaj Finserv has also come across fake websites which look similar to its own. SDCPL has the logo of Bajaj Finance as its display picture on its WhatsApp number.
u201c No complaint regarding SDCPL has come to us. Our Fraud Control Team will probe the company and accordingly a complaint will be raised,u201d Rao said.
u2018 Perform well and you get a trip to Bangkoku2019 Caller with a conscience One of the new recruits from Vaktaniau2019s group, after getting to know about the phishing scam, began calling his customers, alerting them to the fraud, instructing them not to pay the money and requesting to not reveal his name.
During a conversation with the mid- day reporter, the recruit said, u201c Which company gives loan at zero per cent interest? They are fooling people. I will call more customers and alert them and leave this company after a month.u201d Thaneu2019s fake call centre makes all landlines untraceable, making it impossible for hapless customers to report the company or contact them Assistant manager Sagarika A video grab from the time when a senior manager verbally abused the team for u2018 lowu2019 sales Stage Door Communication Private Ltd office at Wagle Industrial Estate, Thane West. PIC/ RAJESH GUPTA Shirish Vaktania at his desk on the floor of SDCPL
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