Fake BPO Alleged to Have Cheated US Citizens in Cyber Fraud, 16 Arrested
The trained individuals collected information from unsuspecting individuals online in the United States and would intimidate victims alleging their involvement in drug trafficking or money laundering cases
BENGALURU: Bengaluru city police, acting on a definite clue, arrest 16 individuals on charge of cyber fraud wherein several United States (U.S.) citizens were allegedly cheated through a fake Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company ‘Cybits Solutions Private Limited’ having its operations from Bengaluru under HSR Layout police station limits.
According to Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru Seemanth Kumar Singh the fake BPO firm hired about 25 young men and women and they were provided 3 weeks of telecaller training and individuals working in fake BPO were instructed to call customers in the USA using phone posing law enforcement personnel such as “U.S. Federal Investigation Service,” “U.S. Postal Service Investigation Section, and similar fake agencies.
The trained individuals collected information from unsuspecting individuals online in the United States and would intimidate victims alleging their involvement in drug trafficking or money laundering cases. The fake BPO individuals through a live server provided by the company would speak to victims, accuse them of being involved in criminal cases, show fake police IDs and demand money for avoiding “arrest.”
Under the pretext to bail them out of problems, the BPO individuals would demand money online to “settle” the matter thereby illegally obtaining large sums of money online.
When HSR Layout police came across the cyber fraud going on, HSR Layout police registered a suo-motu case and on the direction of Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East division), Bengaluru Sara Fatima, HSR Layout police and CEN Police station took up the investigation.
After tracking the location of the fake BPO conducting its activities in Bengaluru, police raided the BPO and individuals working were questioned. Police came across the individuals found job offers on WorkIndia, LinkedIn and similar websites which advertised openings in BPOs providing online services to the United States of America, Canada and other countries.
The raid by the police recovered 41 computer monitors, 40 CPUs, 41 mice, 41 keyboards, 41 VGA cables, 82 power cables and 21 LAV cables. Besides, 2 attendance registers and 4 script notebooks, 25 mobiles phones and ID cards, 1 IP device, 4 routers and 4 modems.
The arrested persons belong to Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Gujarat. Investigations are going on.