BELAGAVI: Belagavi police on Thursday busted an international online fraud racket that had been duping hundreds of U.S. citizens over the past seven months.
The well-organised call centre, operating secretly from Kumar Hall off Bauxite Road in Belagavi city, was running a sophisticated Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) scam to siphon money from unsuspecting Americans.
Police Commissioner Bhushan Borse revealed that the racket had collected sensitive information, including bank details and residential addresses of several U.S. citizens.
Using advanced software and fake identities, the accused lured victims into sharing financial data before extorting money through intimidation and deceit.
Acting on precise intelligence inputs, a special police team raided the call centre at midnight on Wednesday.
The raid led to the seizure of 37 laptops and 37 mobile phones, while 33 individuals were arrested on the spot.
None of the accused were locals; they hailed from states such as Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, with one suspect reportedly from Nepal.
During preliminary interrogation, police found that the gang used 11 different pre-written scripts to cheat clients, tailoring each to manipulate or threaten victims.
“Their approach was simple yet sinister,” said Commissioner Borse.
“They would inform a U.S. resident that he had placed an order for an expensive gadget, such as an iPhone. When the victim denied placing the order, they’d be directed to call another number — which was actually controlled by the fraudsters. Once connected, the scammers gained access to key personal and banking details.”
Some of the gang members impersonated officials of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), convincing victims that their phone numbers and email accounts had been hacked or misused elsewhere.
The victims, believing the narrative, often ended up revealing sensitive data or making panic payments.
The racket employed multiple digital camouflage techniques to stay undetected. The accused used Urban VPN to hide their IP addresses and VoIP technology to make and receive calls that appeared to originate from foreign locations.
This allowed them to pose as U.S.-based agencies while actually operating from Belagavi.
“The group also used sophisticated software from various companies to manage real-time communication,” Borse said.
“Most of the international calls were handled by operators from Gujarat and West Bengal.”
Police have identified two more suspects from these states who are expected to be arrested soon. The seized laptops and phones will undergo forensic imaging and analysis to trace the money trail and identify more victims.
Preliminary findings show that the call centre employees were paid monthly salaries between Rs 18,000 and Rs 45,000, in addition to incentives and performance bonuses.
Investigators believe the racket may have generated a massive amount of money through its operations.
Commissioner Borse said multiple sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) have been invoked, and further investigations are underway to determine the extent of the scam and whether international collaborators were involved.
“This is one of the most organized cyber frauds we have seen in recent times,” Borse said. “Belagavi police are committed to tracing every link in this chain.”