Kolkata Police arrests six for operating fake call centre
K
olkata: The Cyber Police Station on Tuesday arrested six persons for allegedly operating an illegal call centre that targeted US residents through various tech support scams.
The arrests were made between 4 am and 4:35 am at a ground floor facility on Diamond Harbour Road. The accused have been identified as Aman Sharma (25), Deepak Singh (26), Rahul Das (30), Avinash Singh (21), Sudhir Kumar Mahato (28), and Pratik Kumar Singh (27). The cops stated that the accused used organised money transfer routes and even cryptocurrency to trick their victims.
According to police, the suspects posed as representatives of Microsoft and Norton, making Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) calls to US residents.
They allegedly defrauded victims by gaining remote access to their computers and siphoning money from their accounts.
"The group operated a sophisticated scam operation using advanced technology to appear legitimate to their victims," said a senior cyber police official who requested anonymity as the investigation is ongoing.
Police recovered ₹3,50,500 in cash, five laptops, nine mobile phones, and three multimedia headphones from the premises.
Additional evidence, including VoIP diallers and remote access software, were also seized.
The accused have been charged under multiple sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and BNS Act, 2023, including provisions related to computer-related offences, identity theft, and cheating by personation.
"This arrest highlights our ongoing efforts to combat
cyber fraud
operations targeting international victims," the official added.
"We urge citizens to remain vigilant and never share remote access to their devices with unknown callers."
The suspects were produced before the court on Tuesday with a police remand request. The investigation continues as authorities work to determine the full extent of the financial losses and identify potential additional perpetrators.
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