Crime
Fake Call Centre Busted in Noida; 8 Arrested, Including 2 Women
Noida Police uncovered a fake call center in Sector-2 and arrested eight individuals, including two women, accused of defrauding people of approximately Rs 6 crore. The gang allegedly duped victims by offering false promises of loans, insurance policies, and stock market investments.
Fake Call Center Operated from Sector-2
DCP Ram Badan Singh stated that the operation was carried out by a joint team from Noida Surveillance, Cyber Cell, and the Phase-1 and Sector-20 police stations. The accused operated a call center under the name “VHA Investors”.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Ganesh Thakur, Prabhash Jha, Manish Kumar Jha, Parvez Alam, Shubham Yadav, Gyanendra, Shabnam, and Aradhana. Police seized 17 mobile phones, one CPU, four registers, 21 ATM cards, five voter ID cards, six Aadhaar cards, three PAN cards, one driving license, a GST certificate, a registration certificate, a rent agreement, and Rs 2,660 in cash during the raid.
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Modus Operandi
The accused procured data from the dark web and platforms like Justdial to identify potential victims in need of loans or insurance. They posed as employees of reputed banks and used aliases such as Pooja Sharma, Rinki Verma, and Suresh to contact victims. Calls were also made through female associates to avoid suspicion.
The victims were promised loans or insurance on easy terms in exchange for an advance payment of 10-15% of the total amount. After receiving the payment, the accused cut off all contact.
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Fraudulent Tactics
In some cases, victims were told they needed to pay additional fees under the provisions of tax laws or RBI and IRDA regulations to release funds. Others were lured into investing in fake stock market schemes, with the promise of high returns. To further mislead victims, the accused sent fake documents bearing the names of the Reserve Bank of India and other government agencies via WhatsApp.
Rs 1 Crore Duped from Noida Resident
One of the victims, Naresh Kumar of Noida, was cheated out of Rs 1 crore, which was deposited into a fake account created in West Bengal. Naresh lodged a complaint with the police, leading to the investigation and subsequent arrests.
Evasive Measures
The gang frequently changed locations to avoid being tracked. They targeted victims across various states, making it difficult for complaints to be filed due to jurisdictional constraints. Police have initiated further investigations to identify other victims and trace the remaining funds. The accused are currently in custody, and legal proceedings are underway.
