Delhi Police dismantle illegal call centre operating as bank technical support; six cyber fraudsters held

The Delhi Police dismantled an illegal call center in the Vikaspuri area and arrested six cyber fraudsters who duped people posing as technical support from a private bank, officials said on Sunday.

The cops mentioned that they targeted the cardholders who were extending credit card limits and PIN generation assistance.

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The accused have been identified as Vijay Kumar Sharma (46), Moolchand Mishra (51), Amit (27), Pradeep Sahu (28), Gaurav (38), and Hemant (25). According to the police, the arrests were made across Delhi, Haryana, and Telangana, with a total of 41 mobile phones, a laptop, a router, and diaries that had bank customer data were confiscated.

“The gang duped multiple victims of nearly Rs 85 lakh, with 95 complaints found registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) against the recovered mobile numbers,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said.

The matter came to light when Virender Kumar (42) filed a complaint on June 21 that after applying for a new private bank credit card, he received a call regarding PIN generation, and shortly, an unauthorized transaction of Rs 2.81 lakh was detected in his account, DCP Singh mentioned.

With this information, an FIR was registered, and further investigation was initiated following the complaint.

“The accused were running the illegal call center where telecallers impersonated bank officials. They would contact unsuspecting credit card holders, offering them enhanced credit limits or PIN generation assistance,” the officer mentioned.

While interacting, they tricked victims into downloading an APK file, which allowed the fraudsters to remotely access their mobile phones, including SMS. This gave them control over OTPs and banking details.

During investigation, it came out that the gang used stolen credentials to buy expensive items online or transfer funds to mule accounts, then sold the items to retailers at lower prices, posing as dealers.

The officer said technical surveillance disclosed that the fraudulent call to the complainant was made from the Vikaspuri area.

While probing further into the case, the police came to know that the traced mule accounts and fake SIM cards used in the crime were from Panipat in Haryana, Bathinda in Punjab, and Telangana’s Hyderabad.

The officer conducted raids in Vikaspuri and Hyderabad, leading to the arrest of kingpin Vijay Sharma and his aides. Sharma had roped in four women telecallers to lure victims, after which he personally handled calls, sent malicious APK files, and siphoned funds, police said.

Further investigation is underway to identify more victims and financial trails linked to the gang, police said.