In a recent development, the Goa crime branch police apprehended nine individuals on July 12 in connection with a fake call centre case. The accused, including three individuals from Meghalaya and one from Assam, were allegedly involved in cheating citizens of the United States through their fraudulent activities. The raid conducted by the police at an illegal call centre in Majorda, Salcete, South Goa resulted in the seizure of significant evidence and the arrest of the perpetrators.
The Superintendent of Police (Crime branch), Nidhin Valsan, reported that the police carried out a raid on an illegal call centre located in Majorda, Salcete. The operation resulted in the apprehension of nine individuals who were actively engaged in cheating U.S. citizens through their illicit activities. The accused were taken into custody at the scene of the crime.
During the raid, law enforcement officials discovered and seized several items of importance. These included nine laptops equipped with headphones, three routers, two modems, nine mobile phones, along with their accessories and cables. Additionally, a sum of Rs 65,000 in cash was confiscated. The total value of the seized items and cash amounted to Rs 15,00,000, as confirmed by a senior police official.
The individuals arrested in connection with the fake call centre case were identified as follows:
- Vinayakwana Makhwana, 32, native of Ahemdabad, Gujarat
- Ghachi Alfarz, 28, Gujarat
- Akash Biswa, 26, Meghalaya
- Akash Sunar, 23, Meghalaya
- Kesang Tamang, West Bengal
- Rahul Sarsar, 29, Mumbai
- Ajay Biswa, 25, Meghalaya
- Tanmoy Dasgupta, 20, Assam
- Rehan Shaikh, 27, Mumbai, Maharashtra
It is believed that all the accused individuals collaborated with a common intention to establish and operate the illegal call centre. They allegedly obtained personal details of U.S. citizens using the X-lite app.
The police revealed that the accused used laptops and Virtual Private Network (VPN) resources to contact their victims. They employed an active voice response system and impersonated officials from a U.S. bank, particularly targeting individuals with low credit scores. Under the pretense of offering a loan facility, the scammers instructed the victims to pay a fine or penalty in the form of electronic payment. Subsequently, the fraudsters converted the looted money into Indian currency.
The arrest of these nine individuals involved in operating a fake call centre scam in Goa serves as a significant achievement in the fight against cybercrime. Their fraudulent activities, aimed at exploiting citizens of the United States, have been brought to an end.