State police busts call centre duping US citizens; three people arrested

Gourab Neto, MP, 4 Feb 2025, Kolkata: The Cyber Crime Wing (CCW) of the state police has unearthed a new modus operandi that was being used to dupe several US citizens by impersonating officers from the ‘US department of Homeland Security’. 

On January 31, acting on a tip off, CCW conducted a raid at a flat in Chowhati of Sonarpur in South 24-Parganas and arrested three persons running a fake call centre for more than three years. 

The centre was connected to several other such call centres. Police found that the fraudsters were sending ‘pop up’ messages to victims, claiming their IP address was used for unethical browsing and their system will soon crash. 

To avoid data loss, victims were asked to call on numbers shown in the pop-ups. Subsequently, on calling, fraudsters used to receive the call impersonating as Microsoft employees. 

The computer of the victim was then taken control of via remote access software and fake error messages were sent to convince them that their computers got compromised. To fix it, accused persons offered packages worth about $200 and $400. After getting the money, they stopped all communications. 

The Deputy Inspector General (DIG) II of CCW, Anjali Singh informed that during the raid police found a list of victims. The trio was using the name and logo of the ‘US Department of Homeland Security’ to dupe the US citizens who were told their IP address was used for communication in Russia, thus compromising the country’s security. Fraudsters also sent letters forging the letterhead of the ‘US Department of Homeland Security’. 

They then demanded money to settle the matter. Also Read - Ease of doing business: Bengal to highlight Rs 3,527 crore road infra push at BGBS The money used to be credited to a mule bank account in the US which is being accessed from China. 

The money used to be transferred to Delhi and Kolkata in Cryptocurrency or INR form. Fraudsters used to sell the calls and numbers to other fraudulent call centres. Cops have so far found transactions worth about Rs 10 crore. 

Police also seized a luxurious car and several phones, laptops and other gadgets. The arrested persons in police custody are being grilled to find out more about the racket. 

As per the CCW, this new modus operandi and involvement of people from China is new and may have been unearthed for the first time in India. 

https://www.millenniumpost.in/bengal/state-police-busts-call-centre-duping-us-citizens-three-people-arrested-597319