Police bust fake call centre in UP's Budaun, six arrested for duping job seekers

Budaun (UP), Jan 7 (PTI) The Budaun Police on Wednesday busted a fake call centre operating out of a house here, arresting six people for allegedly duping job seekers across several states, officials said.

The gang used virtual names, forged identities and bogus bank details to defraud candidates by promising placements in banks and finance companies.

The officials said the accused managed to amass assets worth nearly Rs 10 crore through the racket. The arrests was made after an investigation into a cybercrime case. A suspicious mobile number linked to the fraud led to a police team to a makeshift office in the Nai Sarai area.

During the raid, the police arrested one man and three women and recovered a laptop along with Rs 4.5 lakh in cash. Two more women were arrested subsequently based on information provided during interrogation.

SP (City) Vijendra Dwivedi said the gang targeted people from Bihar, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh by using the "Work India" platform.

The suspects registered candidates on employment portals and persuaded them to transfer "processing fee" into multiple accounts controlled by the gang, the officer said.

The police seized a laptop, seven smartphones, four feature phones, 23 SIM cards, bank stamps, an attendance register and photocopies of Aadhaar and PAN cards.

The arrested accused have been identified as Vivek, Sanskar Patel, Anshu Patel, Isha Sahu, Meenakshi and Akanksha Patel.

The accused operated different virtual aliases to conceal their identities. All six accused were produced before a court and sent to jail, the officer added. PTI COR KIS AKY AKY