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Ahmedabad, Nov 21 (IANS) Vadodara Police has busted a major interstate cyber fraud racket that targeted American citizens from a bungalow in Talsat village. Officials gave this information on Friday.
Acting on specific intelligence, a police team raided Vintage Bungalow No. 51, which served as the central collection point for several illegal call centers operating across India.
According to investigators, the accused bought personal data of US citizens for just Rs 80-90 per entry, sent them text messages offering loan approvals for 30 per cent commission and threatened them in the name of FBI.
Officials said the accused took advantage of a loophole in US banking rules under which failed transactions were temporarily credited after KYC and persuaded victims to deposit money into prepaid cards.
These funds were then converted into rupees and transferred to India through the Angadia network.
The police have arrested the three main accused – Arun Rawat, Sneh Mukund Patel and Ansh Hitesh Panchal and obtained four-day remand.
Preliminary findings show that more than 80 US citizens have been defrauded so far.
Vadodara Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) Mayur Singh Rajput said that the network of the racket extended beyond Vadodara.
“The operation here was the collection point for many call centers across the country,” he said. The method used was shocking in its accuracy,” he said, adding that the scammers sent targeted offers based on victims’ credit scores such as CIBIL and credit card data collected through specific groups.
During the search, police found several Telegram channels used to coordinate the fraud, including groups named AK-47 Backup (US), Dollar Riches, Mr. Work, Super Salesman and Ammu, each of which handled tasks such as data extraction, loan processing, credit card details, currency conversion and wallet transfers.
Police have collected sufficient digital evidence and are tracking additional suspects.
Details of the case will also be shared with the FBI, which is expected to conduct a parallel investigation into the US side of the fraud.
The international cyber crime racket that laundered money into India from unsuspecting Americans is now being investigated in a full-scale manner by Vadodara authorities.
–IANS
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