Latest news with #FaisalRashidPeerzada
News18
4 days ago
- Business
- News18
'Your System Is Infected': ED Busts Fake Call Centres In Chandigarh That Duped Foreign Nationals
Fake call centres and shell companies posed as global tech troubleshooters of companies like Microsoft, duping unsuspecting American and Canadian citizens with precision. Each time a foreign national dialed for tech assistance, the meter started ticking – 450 to 500 dollars siphoned off in the name of 'support." The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has unearthed a slick, sophisticated transnational scam that was running out of Chandigarh's Tricity, where a nexus of fake call centres and shell companies posed as global tech troubleshooters of companies like Microsoft and others, duping unsuspecting American and Canadian citizens with precision. Fronted by companies like FSAL Technologies Pvt Ltd, the syndicate baited victims through fake pop-up alerts like – 'Your system is infected," 'Call Microsoft Support Now". The pop-ups would only route them to Indian call centres posing as Microsoft, HP, or router support desks. Every call ended with a demand of 450 to 500 dollars for fixing a problem that did not exist. Victims paid, believing they were speaking to genuine tech agents. The money was routed via fake overseas firms like Bios Tech USA, controlled remotely by FSAL's director Faisal Rashid Peerzada, said a senior ED official Following raids across such illegal call centres, ED found no licenses, no agreements, and no real tech capacity. Just a set of trained fraudsters, and websites linked to spoofed domains like which is a knockoff of Geek Squad USA. The call centre staff, far from being software experts, lacked even basic BPO credentials, ED said in a statement. The operation was cloaked in layers. Locals like Faisal and others floated shell firms in the names of relatives and friends to obscure ownership. In one case, Bios Tech was run by a close associate Arshdeep, but all backend control, payment gateway access, and operations were handled directly from India. Another arm of the scam involved Sahu Jain, whose companies Terrasparq and Visionaire falsely claimed affiliation with CTS Mobility, a US-based firm supposedly owned by his sister Priya Jain. These entities also promised high-end services like device management and cybersecurity. In reality, they existed only to collect fraudulent payments, often recharging victims' cards repeatedly without consent, added the ED statement. Their websites projected glossy IT parks and professional setups. The ED found none of it existed as they used fake office photos, fake team bios, and fake promises of 24×7 support. view comments Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Standard
ED raids call centres in Chandigarh Tricity running tech support scam
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday said it had conducted midnight searches on multiple illegal call centres operating in the Chandigarh Tricity region. These centres were duping foreign nationals by offering fraudulent tech support services. According to the ED, the companies had created overseas counterparts to receive payments from unsuspecting customers through payment gateways. The funds were then routed to India through formal banking channels as well as hawala. While the firms advertised services such as web designing and fixed wireless internet, they did not disclose details of promoters or staff. Many employees lacked the technical expertise normally associated with software or BPO services, indicating that the operations were entirely clandestine. One such entity, FSAL Technologies Pvt Ltd, was found running a fake call centre through an overseas front named Bios Tech in the United States. It falsely claimed to provide support for Microsoft, HP printers, routers, and other hardware. However, its director, Faisal Rashid Peerzada, failed to produce any agreements or authorizations from Microsoft, HP, or Arlo to offer such services. Investigators found that FSAL was controlling the backend of Bios Tech's website and monitoring payments received from foreign customers. Another associate, Arshdeep, a friend of Faisal, was listed as the director of Bios Tech. 'Similarly, Terrasparq and Visionaire, operated by Sahu Jain, have been running similar tech scams since 2016. Jain's sister, Ms. Priya, owns a US-based company, CTS Mobility, which acted as the overseas counterpart. ED officials recovered emails and WhatsApp chats showing the creation of fake Microsoft popup alerts and periodic fraudulent credit card transactions from foreign customers for non-existent services,' said an ED statement. The websites of these companies claimed to offer services such as mobile device management, network and device management, and Device-as-a-Service (DaaS), but provided no promoter details. Photographs displayed on the websites portrayed large IT park offices, which were contrary to the reality. The ED has confirmed that further investigation is underway. The directors are likely to be summoned for questioning, and more action is expected as the probe into the multi-crore tech support fraud progresses.
News18
4 days ago
- Business
- News18
'Your Computer Is At Risk': How Fake Call Centres In Chandigarh Tricity Duped Foreigners
Last Updated: The ED claimed to have busted a major tech fraud racket, following midnight raids on illegal call centres that were duping foreign nationals via spoofing and brand impersonation Pop-up messages, cloned websites, and fake support hotlines, with text as cliche as 'your computer is at risk" – this is how illegal call centres in Chandigarh Tricity played on their victims' fears, most of whom were elderly or non-tech savvy foreign clients. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) claimed to have busted a major tech fraud racket, following midnight searches on illegal call centres in the Chandigarh Tricity area under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). It said these entities duped foreign nationals with spoofing and brand impersonation as a core strategy. According to top ED sources, these entities systematically impersonated global tech brands to cheat foreign customers, funnelling proceeds through structured shell companies, spoof websites, payment gateways, and later laundering them via banking channels and hawala. The operations were professionally disguised and run under the garb of BPO and IT services, the sources told News18. The ED sources said entities like Visionaire and Terrasparq have been operational since 2016, showing the longevity and adaptive nature of these networks. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? The sources said Faisal Rashid Peerzada, director of FSAL Technologies Pvt Ltd, was involved in spoofing, fund control, backend operations. Arshdeep, director of Bios Webtech (US entity) and a close aide of Faisal, helped mask Indian control. They said Sahu Jain, director of Visionaire and Terrasparq, had been operational since 2016 and was linked to US firm CTS Mobility owned by his sister Priya, who was a potential overseas conduit. This is not an isolated scam but a tech-enabled, well-orchestrated fraud ecosystem. They were using front companies in India, showing a calculated effort to evade domestic scrutiny. It also suggested centralised orchestration by Faisal and Jain, they added. view comments First Published: Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
NDTV
5 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
Probe Agency Busts International Tech Support Scam Operating From Chandigarh
The Chandigarh Zonal Office-I of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has unearthed a major international tech support scam following overnight search operations on multiple illegal call centres across the Chandigarh Tricity region. The searches revealed a network of bogus tech support firms duping foreign customers by falsely claiming to provide software services on behalf of reputed technology companies such as Microsoft, HP, and Arlo. These call centres had set up overseas shell companies to collect fraudulent payments through payment gateways, which were subsequently routed back to India via formal banking channels and hawala networks. One such company under ED scanner is FSAL Technologies Pvt Ltd, allegedly operated by Faisal Rashid Peerzada. ED officials discovered that FSAL was managing a fake overseas tech entity-Bios Tech, registered in the US. Despite prominently displaying support services for Microsoft and HP printers, Peerzada was unable to furnish any valid license or agreement from these companies. FSAL had complete backend control of the Bios Tech website and was actively monitoring and directing payment flows, the ED said. Further digital forensics revealed that FSAL's website shared an IP address with a spoof of Geek Squad-an American tech support brand. Officials confirmed that the company was hosting this fake site without authorisation or licenses from the original brand owners. In another significant lead, companies Terrasparq and Visionaire, allegedly operated by Sahu Jain, were also found involved in similar scams since 2016. ED found that Terrasparq claimed to support a US-based firm CTS Mobility, owned by Jain's sister. However, investigators say there were no legitimate agreements in place. Jain's emails and WhatsApp chats reportedly revealed fraudulent tactics like generating fake Microsoft pop-ups and charging unsuspecting foreign customers for non-existent services by misusing their credit card data. The websites of these companies falsely claimed to offer high-end services like device management, DaaS (Device as a Service), and network support, but conspicuously lacked any legitimate company or promoter details. Investigators also flagged manipulated images of plush IT offices uploaded on the websites-images that bore no resemblance to the actual call centre locations. Multiple call recordings and technical data are now being analysed, confirming fraudulent operations. ED officials stated that further investigation is ongoing to identify the full scale of the fraud and other associated entities.
