11 Gujaratis operated con call centres to cheat US citizens: CBI

AHMEDABAD: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) began investigation against 18 individuals from across the country, including 11 from Gujarat, for allegedly cheating US citizens through con call centres.

CBI conducted searches last week at 32 locations in the country, including Pune, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Vishakhapatnam, after registering an offence against 22 persons.

According to the CBI FIR filed on Sep 22, the accused from Gujarat include Divyang Raval, a resident of New Naroda who has business in Vishakhapatnam and Pune; his partner Kartik Patel from New Ranip; Takshil Shah and Sahil Vanzara from Naroda; Akash Shankhla from Odhav; and Tirth Patel from Dhansura in Arvalli.

Others named in the FIR were Vikas Nimar from Nana Chiloda, who runs his firm in Vishakhapatnam; his partner Hitesh Vijayvargiya; Pritesh Patel from Khodiyar; Irfan Ansari from Vatva; and Ashmat Shaikh from Ramol.

The FIR stated that Raval and others, in connivance with other accused, had been operating call centres in the name of information technology firms in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam, and Pune since June 2024.

During searches, the CBI seized critical digital evidence and incriminating material. A total of 951 items were seized, including electronic devices, mobile phones, and laptops containing financial information, communication records, and incriminating material used by this cybercrime network. Additionally, Rs 58.45 lakh cash, locker keys, and three luxury vehicles were recovered, said a CBI official.

The central agency has so far arrested 26 key accused, including 10 from Pune, five from Hyderabad, and 11 from Visakhapatnam. The investigation and questioning on the role of other workers of the illegal call centres was ongoing, the CBI official added.

US victims traced
On July 28, the accused targeted a man from the US, falsely informing him that a criminal investigation had been initiated against him and that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) of the US Treasury had already been informed about the suspicious transactions in his bank account. They persuaded the victim to transfer US$ 20,000 to the account provided by the accused to secure his innocence.

It was also revealed during investigation that the accused targeted another victim from the US on July 11 and convinced him to transfer US$ 20,000, thereby defrauding him.

On July 23, the accused targeted another victim in the US online and made him deposit cryptocurrency (BTC) worth US$ 15,000 in the crypto wallet of the accused person.

How the accused operate
- The accused were allegedly engaged in a large-scale transactional technology-enabled financial crime network.

- They targeted US victims online under the guise of providing tech support services and fraudulently gained access to their computer systems and bank accounts through remote access software.

- The accused falsely informed the victims that their computer systems had been hacked, their identities had been stolen, or illegal transactions had been made in their bank accounts.

- Accused told victims that multiple suspicious orders had been placed in their names via Amazon or that they were under surveillance by law enforcement agencies.

- Accused persuaded victims to transfer funds to bank accounts provided by them.

- The accused also made the victims purchase international gift cards and share the codes.

- Or withdraw funds from their bank accounts and deposit the same at crypto ATMs or crypto wallets.

- The accused convinced the victims that this was done to protect the funds in their bank accounts.