MUMBAI: In a major police action in Thane on Tuesday night, over 700 employees of at least three call centres were detained on charges of cheating and robbing non-resident Indians and several US citizens.
The employees, including top officials, were questioned all night after the raids at the call centres in Mira Road area of Thane district. The raids, by a posse of around 200 police personnel, started late on Tuesday and continued till Wednesday.
“We have detained around 700-800 people. It is an international racket,” Police commissioner of Thane Paramvir Singh said here on Wednesday.
The call centre employees used to pose as officials of US Tax Department and acquire financial and bank details of people abroad by threatening them of dire consequence, he said. After obtaining the requisite details, these call centres manage to siphon off money from their accounts. Daily turnover of such dealings was estimated to be over `1 crore, he added.
Based on complaints received on these activities, police kept a tab on the call centre employees and subsequently raided their premises on Tuesday night.
According to police, many of these call centres, targeting mainly US citizens, besides some other countries, were owned by different persons and operational since over six months.
The data base from these call centres contained personal and financial details of several thousands of foreign and even Indian nationals which were utilised to trap their victims.
The Police Commissioner said it is a matter that involves multiple crimes like extortion, forgery and cheating operated internationally.
“The modus operandi of these call centres is identical but their owners are different with the involvement of hundreds of employees. We shall verify the role and antecedents of each and every person engaged in this racket,” Singh told reporters.
To a query, Paramvir Singh said that if any foreign agency approaches, the Thane police would be prepared to share details of the crime with them.
The police is also seeking assistance from the Cyber Crimes Cell, IT experts and internet companies as VOIP was used to make internet voice calls to the victims to avoid tracing back the calling numbers, an official explained.
Many of the callers were given a short training in phone etiquettes and speaking in foreign accents to gain the victims’ confidence before trapping them into parting with their personal details.