The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided premises in Patiala, Pune, and Chandigarh, busting three live fake call centres targeting US nationals. The scammers impersonated officials to make victims pay with gift cards, which were then laundered.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has unearthed fake call centres mainly targeting people in the United States during a massive search operation conducted at four premises located in Punjab's Patiala, Maharashtra's Pune and Chandigarh.
Modus Operandi of the Scam
Revealing the modus operandi of the call centres, the federal agency said details of potential victims were obtained from data suppliers and call-blast vendors who send bulk spam emails to victims, providing a toll-free number to resolve the issue, which is not present in real.
When victims call back, ED said, the call was connected to the opener, who received the call and gained the victim’s confidence.
"Once the victim showed concern, the call was passed to the closer, who created urgency or fear by impersonating officials of reputed companies, banks or government agencies and convinced the victim to purchase gift cards or make payment through gift cards, cash, gold, and other means, either to pick up directly or through courier."
"The banker (their own employees who take care of confirmation of balance in the account of target) then guided the victim through the payment process, collected the gift-card details, cash, gold and arranged for their redemption," said the ED in a statement.
Money Laundering and Proceeds of Crime
"The gift cards were converted into Bitcoin or USDT; USD, Gold sold in local markets in the USA and later converted into cash or bank credits through crypto traders, hawala operators and accommodation-entry providers." The proceeds were finally routed through the accounts of the accused, their family members and associates and used for purchasing properties and other assets.
Details of the Search Operation
The ED, which conducted search operations under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA) at four premises located across Patiala, Pune and Chandigarh on September 15.
The raids, ED said, were conducted in connection with an ongoing investigation into a fake call centre scam targeting nationals of the United States.
The searches were conducted on the basis of material gathered during the investigation and subsequent field verification, which indicated that a group of persons, acting in association with others, was operating and controlling call centres at Patiala and Pune.
Live Call Centres Uncovered
During the search operations, ED said three live call centres were detected, two at Patiala and one at Pune. As per the agency, around 220 persons were found working at these call centres at the time of the searches, and their identities, assigned roles and reporting structures are being recorded and verified.
It said the premises were equipped with multiple workstations, cubicles, computers, headsets, mobile phones and networking equipment.
"It has been revealed that the call centres were engaged in making calls to US nationals and allegedly inducing them to make payments under false pretexts," said the ED.
At the Patiala premises, the ED stated the call centres were found to be engaged in cheating and extorting US nationals. Mobile phones and a laptop recovered from the persons operating the centres were found to contain data relating to the modus operandi of the syndicate and the distribution of the proceeds generated by defrauding victims.
Similarly, the agency said the same modus operandi of defrauding was found to be done from the fake call centre being operated from the Pune premises.
Mastermind's Hub in Chandigarh
It further said the residential premises searched at Chandigarh were being used by the "mastermind" for coordinating and controlling the fake call centres operating at Patiala. Multiple digital devices containing data relating to the functioning of the call centres were found at the premises. A person allegedly involved in processing and converting the proceeds from US Dollars into Indian Rupees was also found operating from these premises, and his role and the related financial transactions are under examination.
Evidence Seized and Ongoing Probe
As a result of search and seizure proceedings, a large number of digital devices, including 66 mobile phones, 13 laptops, hard disks and other communication equipment, cash and records were found and seized.
The investigation is examining, inter alia, the calling campaigns, scripts, dialler and VoIP-based systems, victim-related data, payment channels, the persons managing and controlling the operations, and the flow of funds generated through the alleged activities.
The material and digital evidence recovered is being examined in detail to ascertain the complete modus operandi, identify all persons involved, establish linkages among the searched premises and trace the proceeds of crime. (ANI)
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