Punjab Illegal call centre that duped people of Rs 50 crore busted in Mohali 8 held

Mohali, Jun 18 (PTI) Punjab Police on Wednesday said that they have busted an illegal call centre in Mohali which allegedly defrauded people with about Rs 50 crore through online scams. Eight people including a woman have been arrested in the case.
     Mohali Superintendent of Police (City), Sirivennela said police received a tip-off that the illegal call centre was operating out of a flat in Eden Court Society, Sector 91, Mohali.
     Following this, police conducted a raid and arrested the accused.
     Sharing details of the modus operandi, police said the accused were running a fake call centre that sent alarming messages to people, falsely claiming that they had purchased cryptocurrency and their bank accounts would be debited.
     The messages also provided a contact number for assistance.
     When victims called the given number, the fraudsters, posing as officials, manipulated them into sharing personal and banking details, and coerced them into transferring money through gift cards, e-vouchers, or direct bank transfers, said police.
     This illegal operation had been running for the past six months, and preliminary investigation estimates the fraud amount to be around Rs 50 crore.
     Further identification of co-accused and tracing of financial links is ongoing, said police.
     Police recovered 12 laptops which were used for fraudulent activities, 14 mobile phones, used for communicating with victims and a car.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)