Mumbai: Call center dupes US citizens by offering anti-virus
What's the story
The Mumbai Police claimed on Friday to have busted a call center racket by arresting two persons who allegedly cheated thousands of US citizens by offering to cleanse their computers of virus or malware.
The employees at the call center allegedly called US citizens and told them that their computer or laptop had a virus or malware (a malicious software intended to damage files).
Exphinity Call Centre
Employees caught calling US citizens and speaking with American accent
Unit-9 of Mumbai Police's Crime Branch raided Exphinity Call Centre on SV Road in suburban Andheri on Thursday and seized computers and other equipment used by the accused, said Akbar Pathan, Deputy Commissioner of Police.
During the raid, Police found some 40 employees working at the call center, busy calling US citizens under fictitious names and speaking with an American accent, he said.
The accused
Police arrested the owner of the call center
Police arrested the owner of the call center, David Alphonso (22) and Santosh Yadav (28), an IT expert, under Section 420 of IPC (cheating) and other relevant acts.
The employees at the call center allegedly called US citizens and told them that their computer or laptop had a virus or malware.
The callers then offered to remove the virus by installing the anti-virus program.
Charges for anti-virus
The callers charged US citizens $100-$700 for the anti-virus
If the person (victim) agreed, he or she was asked to pay anything between $100-$700 through digital "gift cards" of online shopping websites, he said.
The amount was received in the accused's bank accounts.
An investigation revealed that thousands of US nationals were allegedly duped thus in the last seven months, said Senior Police Inspector Mahesh Desai, who carried out the raid.