AHMEDABAD: Fraudsters operating fake call centre rackets have hit on a new modus operandi. They target citizens in the US and Canada, luring them with $5,000 assistance to tide over crisis caused by Covid pandemic, and taking away $2,000 from them instead.
These call centres are run in small shops, cars, autorickshaw or even on scooters are mainly located in eastern Ahmedabad, mostly in GIDCs.
Police sources said, “The crooks call foreigners, ask them if they have suffered a financial setback during Covid and offer them instant relief of $5,000. If the person agrees, they ask the victim to pay $2,000 to avail of the instant aid. Once the money is paid, the criminals disappear.”
Using the dark web, these accused also send messages to foreign nationals, showing that some amount has been credited to their account. “They create fake cellphone number or dummy bank website through which they send messages,” said the officer.
Earlier, scamsters duped foreigners by offering payday loans or threaten to implicate them in a false narcotics case. “With increased awareness, targets realize they are being conned and dial the security agencies. So, the criminals have come up with a new modus operandi,” said another officer. Many of them operate from Vatva GIDC and industrial areas of Narol where they set up call centres in interior units, he said. This method is also being used by fake call centres in Mewat and Alwar to dupe Indians.
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