The Enforcement Directorate has provisionally attached assets worth ₹3.72 crore in an alleged international cyber-fraud case involving fake call centres that targeted people in the United Kingdom.
The case involves call centres allegedly operated from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh and Ranchi in Jharkhand.
Investigators say employees posed as representatives of British telecom company BT Openreach and later as officials from UK fraud-reporting agencies to convince victims to transfer money.
The ED has quantified the alleged proceeds of crime generated by accused Anik Dutta and another person at around ₹7 crore.
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Flat, Plot and Bank Funds Attached
The ED’s Allahabad Sub-Zonal Office in Prayagraj issued a provisional attachment order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
The assets include a plot of land and a flat in Kolkata.
Money held in bank accounts and investments in insurance policies have also been attached.
A provisional attachment does not amount to a final finding of guilt.
It prevents the assets from being transferred or disposed of while proceedings under the PMLA continue.
The underlying money-laundering investigation was opened after a case registered by the Cyber Crime Police Station in Gorakhpur.
Police had earlier filed an FIR and charge sheet against Anik Dutta, Akash Gupta, Aditya Mishra and others.
The allegations against them remain subject to the legal process.
Call Centres Allegedly Targeted UK Residents
According to the ED, the accused operated call centres through two companies.
One was Glowbird Consultancy Private Limited in Ranchi.
The other was Jubilate Info Private Limited in Gorakhpur.
Employees at the centres were allegedly trained to call people in the United Kingdom using fictitious foreign names.
The callers allegedly pretended to work for BT Openreach, the telecommunications infrastructure company.
Victims were told that there were problems with their internet connections and that the callers could improve their broadband speed.
The conversation was allegedly used to gain access to their computers.
Investigators say elderly people were among those deliberately targeted because they were considered easier to manipulate.
Victims Told to Install Remote-Access Software
The fraud allegedly depended on remote-access tools such as AnyDesk and Microsoft Quick Assist.
These programmes have legitimate uses.
IT support staff, for example, can use them to connect to a customer’s computer and fix technical problems remotely.
But the same tools can be misused if criminals persuade someone to grant them access.
In this case, victims were allegedly told to download the software as part of an internet-speed troubleshooting process.
Once access was granted, the accused could allegedly view information on the victims’ computers, including banking details.
The ED says the victims were then told that their connections had suffered a cyberattack.
That claim allegedly created the next stage of the fraud.
Fraudsters Allegedly Posed as UK Action Fraud Officials
According to investigators, victims were told that a complaint about the supposed attack had been registered with Action Fraud in the United Kingdom.
Action Fraud is the UK’s national reporting service for fraud and cybercrime.
Senior members of the alleged call-centre network then reportedly impersonated Action Fraud officials.
Victims were instructed to transfer money into bank accounts identified by the callers.
The use of multiple impersonation stages could make the operation appear more legitimate.
A victim might first believe they are speaking to a telecom company and then think the matter has escalated to an official fraud investigator.
That added layer of authority can increase pressure to follow instructions without independently checking whether the caller is genuine.
Money Allegedly Moved Across Three Countries
The ED says proceeds generated through the fraud were transferred through multiple channels.
Money allegedly moved through international money-transfer services including Western Union and MoneyGram.
Investigators also suspect the use of hawala networks.
Funds were allegedly routed to India, Bangladesh and Thailand.
Cross-border transfers can make cyber-fraud proceeds harder to trace because investigators may need banking records and cooperation from several jurisdictions.
Money-laundering investigations therefore often focus not only on the original fraud but also on the people and businesses that helped move, store or convert the money afterwards.
The ₹3.72 crore attachment is intended to secure assets the agency believes are connected to those alleged proceeds.
Case Shows How Tech Support Scams Become Organised Businesses
Fake technical-support calls have existed for years, but organised call centres can scale them dramatically.
Employees can be given scripts, fake identities and specific techniques for handling victims.
Remote-access tools allow them to operate across borders without ever meeting the victim.
The fraud can become even more convincing when callers imitate real companies and government agencies.
Older victims may be particularly vulnerable when scammers create a sense of urgency around account security, hacking or financial loss.
The ED says further investigation is continuing to trace other proceeds and determine the roles played by additional people in the network.
What this means for you:
Never install remote-access software because of an unsolicited call claiming there is a problem with your internet, bank account or computer. Genuine telecom companies and law-enforcement agencies will not ask you to transfer money to “secure” it from a cyberattack.
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