Mumbai: The Mulund police have busted a fake international call center operating from a residential apartment in Mulund Colony and arrested five accused for allegedly defrauding citizens in the United States and Canada by posing as officials of an American financial institution.
Accused Impersonated US Financial Firm Officials
According to the police, the racket came to light after Senior Police Inspector Ajay Joshi of the Mulund police station received a tip-off from confidential sources about a group running a fake call center that was pretending to represent Lending Point, a US-based financial company.
The accused were contacting foreign citizens, offering instant Pay Day loans, and extracting “processing fees” ranging from $90 to $150 under the pretext of loan approval.
Police Raid And Arrests
Acting on this information, a police team led by Inspector Shivaji Chavan raided the location on November 11. During the operation, police discovered that the main accused, Sagar Rajesh Gupta, 27, along with Abhishek Suryaprakash Singh, 28, both residents of Mulund, Tanmay Kumar Rajneesh Dhadsing, 27, from Lakhisarai, Bihar, Shailesh Manohar Shetty, 27, from Bhayandar East, and Rohan Mohd Ansari, 28, from Thane, had set up the illegal call center.
Use Of e-SIMs And Fake Loan Documents
Investigations revealed that the accused were using international e-SIM cards to send messages and voice mails to potential victims abroad, claiming to provide instant loans under the name Lending Point. To gain trust, they even issued fake loan approval documents with identical application numbers for multiple victims. The call center had employed four operators to run its day-to-day fraudulent operations.
Seizures And Legal Action
During the raid, police seized 2 laptops, 11 mobile phones, 2 routers, and Rs76,000 in cash. It was also found that the accused did not possess any official licenses required to operate a call center.
Police have registered a case under sections 61(2), 316(2), 318(2), 338, 340(2), 319(2), and 336(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) Act, along with relevant sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the Information Technology (IT) Act, and Sections 3(1) and 42(1) of the Telecommunication Act.
Link To Surat-Based Accomplice Under Probe
Further investigation has revealed that a person named Prashant Rajput, based in Surat, assisted the accused in converting U.S. dollar gift cards into Indian currency. Police said that efforts are underway to trace him and other accomplices involved in the racket.
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All five accused are currently in police custody, and the apartment used to run the fake call center has been sealed. The investigation is ongoing.
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