Mumbai: Crime Branch Raids Illegal Call Centers Duping Foreigners; 19 Held

The Mumbai crime branch has busted illegal call centres run by a gang to defraud foreign and Indian citizens and arrested 19 people. The gang lured people with promises of high returns, pretending to offer Google services and pressuring them to invest in prohibited foreign currency trading schemes.

According to officials, Units 10 and 11 of the crime branch received information from a confidential informant that some persons were running illegal call centres, deceiving foreign citizens by posing as representatives of Google. These centers also pressured Indian citizens to invest in banned foreign exchange trading, using fake names and claiming to be from Google, warning that their business profiles on Google would be closed. They collected payments through payment gateways under the guise of trading without actually conducting any trades.

In this operation, a total of 12 mobile phones, 22 hard disks, 1 monitor, 2 CPUs, 1 router, 1 laptop, 1 keyboard, 12 headset mics, and other important documents were seized. Further investigation is underway, said the official.