Fake call centre duping foreigners busted in Thane; five detained

Thane, Feb 25 (PTI) The Thane police have unearthed a bogus call centre that allegedly cheated foreign nationals, particularly US citizens, under the pretext of selling software, an official said on Wednesday.

Five persons, including the call centre owner, were detained after a raid at the premises in the Ambernath area of Maharashtra's Thane district late Tuesday night, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Ambernath division) Shailesh Kale told PTI.

The bogus facility was operating from a business centre and functioned under the garb of providing software services, the official said.

"The call centre staff targeted foreign nationals, especially Americans. They contacted them on the phone, lured them with offers of software services and extracted money from them in different forms," Kale said.

The police received a tip-off about the illegal operations and raided the premises. The search operation continued till Wednesday morning, he said.

The employees used to make hundreds of calls to foreign nationals daily and would eventually succeed in duping a few of them, Senior Police Inspector Shabbir Sayyed said.

"They collected advance payments from the victims and blocked them after receiving the money," he said, explaining the modus operandi.

The employees were provided with a specific script for conversations to gain the victims' confidence and persuade them to transfer funds, he added.

The police have seized electronic gadgets and other accessories used in the alleged racket from the premises.

A case has been registered against five persons under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Information Technology Act and the Indian Telegraph Act, Kale said.

The police were verifying the victims' credentials and nationality. PTI COR GK