STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI: Guwahati Police Crime Branch summoned 35 internet service providers (ISPs) in the city in their investigation into the operations of the fake call centres, or more accurately, the cybercrime centres, which were busted recently, sources said.
The ISPs were questioned regarding details of the internet usage by these ‘call centres’ and the expenditure incurred by them, including their mode of payment and other details, according to police sources.
It may be recalled that the Crime Branch and the Guwahati Police conducted raids in various places in the city and unearthed eight illegal call centres being run by scamsters recently. The operation involved the deployment of a large team of police personnel, which spread out to eight locations in the city and succeeded in detaining 191 people who were operating these illegal call centres. Three of the masterminds were also apprehended.
Meanwhile, the bank accounts of the three arrested masterminds—Debajyoti Dey, alias David, Rajan Sidana, and Divyam Arora—have been frozen. A police official revealed that the fraud had been carried out for the past two years, with payments from the mostly overseas victims taken in Bitcoin and gift coupons. In order to move the money that was being earned, the scamsters used hawala channels.
With one of the masterminds, Rajen Sidana, hailing from Ludhiana, and another, Divyam Arora, belonging to Delhi, the Crime Branch is seeking the assistance of Noida and Delhi Police. A police source said that, as most of the victims were from overseas, including the US, the investigators are also mulling seeking help from the FBI and Interpol through the country’s premier investigation agency, the CBI.
The modus operandi of the scammers was to send luring pop-ups to their prospective prey. If willingly or accidentally clicked, the victims would expose their information details, including mobile numbers or bank details, to the scamsters.
They would then proceed to create a false sense of urgency by claiming that their victims’ bank account has been compromised, their computer has a virus, their social media account has been hacked, or their personal information is at risk.
The scamsters would ask the victims to install some software on their phones or computers to remedy the situation. Once the scammers gain remote access to victims’ devices, they will hack their personal information or bank accounts and coerce them into making payments via Bitcoin, gift vouchers, or other electronic fund transfer systems.
The scamsters used fake toll-free numbers and Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls using lease line connections from different internet service providers.
It is being ascertained whether any ISPs were aware of the fraudulent nature of the call centres, the source added.
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