A joint team of the Crime Branch and Cyber Cell has uncovered an unauthorized call center in the Jajmau area of Kanpur, which was allegedly targeting citizens in the United States and Europe for cyber fraud. Acting on specific leads, police raided the facility located on the second floor of a three-storey apartment near Medina Mosque on Monday evening. The operation lasted nearly eight hours, concluding around 2 a.m., during which investigators questioned 10 to 15 employees found on the premises and seized several laptops and mobile phones for forensic examination. Preliminary findings indicate that callers lured foreign nationals with offers to settle their loans, only to transfer interested targets to cyber fraudsters operating in an organized network.
Cloud Network Used to Target Foreign Debtors
Investigators revealed that the operation relied on a cloud-based system to place calls overseas, prompting concerns within the Cyber Cell about broader illicit digital activity. Employees claimed during questioning that their role was limited to contacting people abroad and discussing loan settlements on fixed salaries, while the center operators earned commissions. Technical specialists are now examining the seized digital devices, contact databases, and call logs to identify external handlers and determine how the personal data of foreign citizens was acquired. Prof. Triveni Singh, a cyber crime expert and former IPS officer, noted that passing individuals lured by loan relief offers to a second tier of fraudsters reflects the classic structure of an organized cybercrime syndicate.
Operators Fail to Provide Legal Documentation
A major focus of the probe centers on the legitimacy of the establishment, as the operators failed to produce any official registration, operational licenses, or formal partnership agreements during the raid. Although the management claimed an affiliation with a company named Eternity, they could not furnish documents to substantiate the relationship. Authorities are verifying whether the firm actually exists or if its identity was misused to mask an illegal enterprise. The financial trail is also under scrutiny to track where the proceeds generated from the scheme were routed and whether funds moved through international accounts.
Police Scrutinize Staff Role and Operational Timeline
Police are evaluating the degree of culpability among the staff members present during the raid to establish whether they were active conspirators or merely performing routine calling duties without full awareness of the scam. Detectives questioned workers in detail regarding daily workflow instructions, the specific software utilized, and the exact handover protocol once a victim expressed interest in a settlement. Further legal proceedings will hinge on forensic findings extracted from the seized electronics, with the ongoing inquiry focused on establishing how long the Jajmau center had been running and the total number of foreign victims compromised by the outfit.
