Fake Tech-Support Call Centre In Hyderabad Busted, 13 Arrested For Cheating Australians & Canadians

Cyberabad police arrested 13 people for allegedly cheating people based in Australia by posing as tech support staff of the firm.

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Thirteen individuals who allegedly cheated people in Australia and Canada by posing as e-commerce firm tech support staff have been arrested by the Cyberabad Police in Hyderabad, according to a PTI report on Wednesday.

The police arrested two managers and nine telecallers working at the fake tech-support call centre, who belong to Telangana and West Bengal. The accused allegedly called potential targets in Australia and offered technical support, informing them that their account had either been hacked or faced a security threat.

"The accused persons used illegal techniques and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) calls. The victims were made to pay the specified amount through gift cards, which were redeemed at the Australia-based bank accounts by the overseas contacts of the accused," a release from the Cyberabad Police said.

The international fake call centre had been operating from Petbasheerabad in Hyderabad, and the accused had already duped three Australians online. They also claimed to have obtained access to the database of 40,000 Australian and Canadian citizens from some mediators.

According to a police official, a total of 13 people were present at the call centre, and they engaged in calls with foreign nationals by pretending to be tech support staff of the e-commerce firm. Three customer data vendors, from whom the database of Australian and Canadian nationals was procured, are absconding in the case, police added.

The Cyberabad Police seized a car, internet routers, telecommunications equipment, memory cards, pen drives, desktop computers, laptops, and cash from the accused.

In a similar incident on Monday, the Times of India reported that a fake call centre operating from Bidhannagar in Kolkata was sealed by cops. During a raid, police arrested seven employees of Vinheet Technologies while its two directors are absconding. The young people were trained in language and voice modulation at the office, which was listed as a data processing company before they were given the task of calling foreigners while impersonating Microsoft representatives from 26 different workstations there, the police said. Police seized 26 computers, nine smartphones, and cash from the office.