A team of the Delhi Police busted an illegal call centre operating an online job scam targeting job seekers by posing as recruiters and luring them into making payments, an official said on Thursday.

The police have arrested 14 people, including the kingpin in the case, they said.

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According to the police, the accused lured the victims into making payments for various fictitious processes like training, documentation and kit delivery, he added.

“The action followed a complaint filed by a woman who had uploaded her resume on Shine.com and Naukri.com in January while seeking a job in the medical field”, Deputy Commissioner of Police Devesh Kumar Mahla said.

The senior officer continued by saying that, on January 27, she received a call from a woman identifying herself as Priya, who offered her a job and sought ₹500 as a refundable security deposit.

The DCP said after transferring the amount, Priya was contacted by a man named Atul, who conducted a telephonic interview and demanded ₹3,999 for training. Over the next few days, the complainant was made to pay an additional ₹7,500 for document verification, ₹7,250 for dispatching a work kit, and was eventually asked for ₹11,000 for salary account processing.

“Her suspicions were aroused by the final demand, and she refused to pay further. Realising she had been cheated, she approached the cyber cell,” the officer further added.

A case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation was launched. The trail led police to ATM CCTV footage in Noida, where a masked suspect was seen withdrawing cash from the victim’s payment.

Additionally, through technical surveillance, including call detail records and IP logs from Shine.com, police zeroed in on a recruiter who matched the suspect’s profile. Further monitoring revealed he was operating from a building in Sector-3, Noida,” police said in a statement.

Furthermore, on May 14, a raid was carried out at the site by the Delhi Police, with local police assistance, leading to the arrest of Fahiq Siddiqui along with other accused; all found operating the illegal call centre.

The police said Siddiqui confessed to the said crime. Another accused, Mohit Kumar, was arrested near Laxmi Nagar Metro Station later. He allegedly provided bank accounts and SIM cards used in the scam, police said.

During the raid, police seized eight laptops, 47 mobile phones, 57 SIM cards, 15 debit cards, two Wi-Fi dongles and ₹1,31,500 in cash, he added.

The accused had allegedly purchased premium recruiter accounts on job portals and accessed profiles of job seekers to initiate contact. The scam’s reach is believed to be pan-India, and details of the seized SIM cards and numbers are being sent to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre for further analysis, the DCP stated.