UP: Fake call centre busted; 2 held for running cyber fraud racket in Gorakhpur

Gorakhpur (UP), Dec 8 (PTI) A cyber fraud racket allegedly operating out of a fake call centre here has been busted by police with the arrest of two key members who had been running the scam for nearly two years, officials said on Monday.

The arrests were made on Sunday evening from the Gulriha area, where the accused had set up the illegal operation in a rented office and recruited young girls -- several of them minors -- through advertisements and interviews, police said.

The recruits were instructed to make deceptive promotional calls offering attractive schemes to lure people into placing bets on online gaming platforms, including 'Fair Play 247', officials said.

According to police, the victims were initially made to win small amounts. Once their trust was gained, the gang sought their banking details and siphoned off money from their accounts. The group allegedly opened multiple mule accounts by offering small cash incentives to poor individuals.

The racket surfaced after Pilibhit Police recently busted a similar fake call centre, whose operators had trained the Gorakhpur group.

Acting on this information, Gulriha police arrested Rakesh Prajapati of Narayanpur and Janey Alam of Bhathat.

Police seized six laptops, three mobile phones, four headsets and other equipment from the premises. Investigators said the mule accounts linked to the racket witnessed daily transactions of Rs 10-15 lakh.

An FIR was registered following a complaint by Vijay Chauhan, who alleged that his bank account had been misused for fraudulent activities.

Gulriha SHO Vijay Pratap Singh said strict action would be taken and all individuals connected to the racket would be booked based on evidence. PTI CORR ABN MPL MPL