Kolkata Police arrests six for operating fake call centre
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
24 minutes ago
- NDTV
Man, 62, Duped Of Rs 73 Lakh In Gold Trading Fraud By Woman He Met Online
Thane: A 62-year-old resident of Navi Mumbai has allegedly been cheated of Rs 73.72 lakh after being lured into gold trading for high returns by a woman whom he met through a dating application, police said on Monday. The woman got in touch with the man, who resides in New Panvel area, through the dating app between March and May 2024. Following initial interactions, the two continued chatting on WhatsApp during which the woman, who identified herself as Zia, lured the man to invest in a gold trading scheme, an official from Khandeshwar police station said. The woman assured the victim of high returns and persuaded him to use a specific trading application. The victim subsequently invested Rs 73.72 lakh over a span of three months, the official said. However, when no returns were credited later, the man grew suspicious. When he tried to enquire about the promised returns and the invested money, the woman stopped responding and eventually became incommunicado, the official said. The man then approached the police with a complaint. Following a preliminary inquiry, the police on July 4 registered a case under sections 420 (cheating) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, the official said. The police were working to trace the accused and track digital footprints related to the fraudulent transactions, he added.
Time of India
7 hours ago
- Time of India
Lured on matrimonial portal, bank officialloses Rs 34 lakh in crypto investment scam
Bengaluru: A 33-year-old bank employee, who was searching for a match on a matrimonial website, fell prey to cybercrooks. He was tricked into investing money in crypto trading and was conned out of Rs 34 lakh. According to a complaint filed by Nirmal (name changed), a resident of Horamavu, with the East CEN Crime police, the fraud occurred between April and June 24. In April, he created a profile on a matrimonial website, and within a week, he received interest from a profile named 'Mahima Majji', who introduced herself as a finance professional working at a hospital in the UK. She claimed that she was from Andhra Pradesh. You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru She would make calls and send messages to him on WhatsApp. She even made a video call, the complaint said. On April 25, she talked about her hobbies and investing in cryptocurrencies. She explained how one could earn high returns by investing. She claimed she was one of the investors. She then asked him if he was interested in investing, which he initially declined. However, she continued to persuade him, stating they could build their future together and avoid financial problems before tying the knot. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 2025년 가장 여유 넘치는 농장 게임. 설치 없음 Taonga: 아일랜드 팜 플레이하기 Undo Once she succeeded in convincing him, she introduced him to a cryptocurrency trading app. She guided him on how and when to make investment and assured him of her help at every step. After he registered on the app, she sent him a link and he registered on the trading platform. He started making investments in thousands and saw good returns on the app. His first investment was Rs 60,000 on May 12, the second payment was Rs 1 lakh on May 19, and the third investment of Rs 2 lakh was on May 21. He continued transferring money to the bank accounts provided by her, including Rs 9 lakh, Rs 5 lakh, and the last one on June 24 was Rs 4 lakh. By then, he had transferred Rs 34.4 lakh in total. During the fraud, Majji kept saying she was returning to India on July 18 and claimed they could have marriage discussions with their families. She also insisted he delete all the matrimony apps he had registered on, as she promised to marry him. The fraud came to light when Nirmal tried to withdraw his money from the platform, which was showing a fancy profit. Then someone, claiming to be a customer service executive of the platform, asked him to pay 5% of the total amount he had "invested", citing various charges, including income tax and processing fees, which amounted to around Rs 3.4 lakh. Nirmal realised it was a cybercrime and called the cyber helpline 1930. Later, he lodged a complaint with the police. A case has been registered under the Information Technology Act and BNS 318 (cheating). Efforts are being made to freeze the money from the fraudsters' accounts, police said.
Hindustan Times
8 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Reuters X account restored in India after suspension over legal demand
NEW DELHI -The Reuters News account on X was restored in India on Sunday, a day after the social media platform suspended it, citing a legal demand. Reuters X account restored in India after suspension over legal demand "At this time, we are no longer withholding access in INDIA to your account," X said in an email to the Reuters social media team, without elaborating. Representatives for X, Reuters and the Indian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the restoration of the account. Earlier on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Indian government's Press Information Bureau told Reuters that no Indian government agency had required withholding the Reuters handle, adding that officials were working with X to resolve the problem. A Reuters spokesperson had said the agency was working with X to resolve this matter and get the Reuters account reinstated in India as soon as possible. Reuters World, another X account operated by the news agency which was blocked in India, was also restored late Sunday night. The main Reuters account, which has more than 25 million followers globally, had been blocked in India since Saturday night. A notice told X users that "@Reuters has been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand". In an email to the Reuters social media team on May 16, X said: "It is our policy to notify account holders if we receive a legal request from an authorized entity to remove content from their account." "In order to comply with X obligations under India's local laws, we have withheld your X account in India under the country's Information Technology Act, 2000; the content remains available elsewhere". Reuters could not ascertain if the May 16 email was linked to Saturday's account suspension nor could it determine what specific content the demand referred to, why its removal was sought or the entity that had lodged the complaint. While the email did not specify which entity had made the request or what content they sought to remove, it said X had been advised that in such cases, a user could contact the secretary of India's Information and Broadcasting Ministry. The secretary, Sanjay Jaju, did not respond to requests seeking comment. The 2000 law allows designated government officials to demand the takedown of content from social media platforms they deem to violate local laws, including on the grounds of national security or if a post threatens public order. X has long been at odds with India's government over content-removal requests. In March, the company sued the federal government over a new government website the company says expands takedown powers to "countless" government officials. The case is continuing. India has said X wrongly labelled an official website a "censorship portal", as the website only allows tech companies to be notified about harmful online content. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
