Delhi police bust illegal call centre defrauding US citizens through tech support scam

NEW DELHI: The Crime Branch of Delhi Police busted an illegal call centre allegedly involved in defrauding US citizens by posing as customer support executives. Seven people were apprehended during a late-night raid at a flat in Gujarawala Town, North Delhi.Police said the accused used toll-free numbers to receive calls from US nationals. Using Voice over IP (VoIP) technology and remote-access applications, they gained control of victims’ devices. The callers falsely warned victims about software bugs and security threats to their bank accounts, coercing them into purchasing cryptocurrency—primarily bitcoins—under the pretext of securing their funds.Acting on specific intelligence, the crime branch conducted a raid around 11:45 pm at the first-floor flat, which comprised three rooms and a drawing area.

One person was found in the drawing room, while two rooms were locked from inside. Despite repeated requests, he failed to cooperate or explain the activities taking place inside the locked rooms.During the search, police recovered a key from the drawing area and opened one of the locked rooms, where six individuals were found operating laptops and mobile phones. On interrogation, they admitted to handling calls from US citizens through toll-free numbers generated under the guise of tech support services using MICRO SIP.

They impersonated technical or customer service executives and engaged callers in lengthy conversations to gain their confidence.The accused then persuaded victims to grant remote access to their computers, laptops, or mobile phones using the ScreenConnect application. Victims were falsely informed that malware infected their devices and that their bank accounts were at risk. The calls were subsequently transferred to another associate posing as a banker, who convinced victims to purchase bitcoins or other cryptocurrencies.

While assisting victims in setting up crypto accounts, the accused shared their own wallet details to receive the transferred funds.Police said the call centre was allegedly owned and managed by three individuals and was operational since Sept. The cryptocurrency collected in the wallets was controlled by the trio, who later withdrew or exchanged the funds. Seven laptops and several mobile phones used to contact foreign customers were seized during the raid.