Mumbai: Cops bust 2 fake call centres, 4 arrested for phone-related scams

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Mumbai Police uncovered two fake call centres in Mumbai's Powai area that were involved in fraudulent activities and arrested four individuals. The accused are alleged to have engaged in scams that deceived victims by falsely implicating them in drug deals and money laundering, with the intent to steal money, a PTI report stated.

During the raids, law enforcement officials confiscated a significant amount of equipment, including 25 laptops and six mobile phones, believed to be integral to the execution of these fraudulent activities.

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According to the report, the modus operandi of the accused involved assuming the identities of Canadian nationals purportedly employed by a prominent e-commerce firm.

Under this guise, they would call unsuspecting individuals, claiming that iPhones, ordered under their names, were somehow linked to illicit drug deals and money laundering operations. The alarming information was shared as a means to intimidate and coerce the victims into providing their bank account details.

Once the victims had been successfully manipulated into revealing their bank account information, the accused would proceed to make unauthorised withdrawals from their accounts. It is evident that this nefarious operation exploited fear and misinformation to execute their fraudulent activities, causing considerable distress to the unsuspecting victims.

The crackdown on these fake call centres commenced following a specific complaint that had been registered at the MIDC police station. The authorities swiftly initiated an investigation into the matter, leading to the discovery of the fraudulent operations and subsequent arrests.

"The accused would threaten the victims into giving bank account details. They would then withdraw money. A probe began on a specific complaint received at MIDC police station," the official told PTI.

In another incident, a man, after snatching a mobile phone from a woman sitting inside a rickshaw, jumped into Mahim creek to evade being captured. Eyewitnesses recalled seeing him jump into the creek and they called Mumbai Fire Brigade personnel who carried out search operations but did not find him. Meanwhile, another incident of a hoax call was reported from Bandra-Kurla Complex wherein a caller told cops that he had placed bomb in a car parked outside Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Upon reaching the spot , the cops learnt it was a hoax call and manhunt for accused is on.