Non-local youths take up ‘call centre’ jobs in Goa to enjoy parties, nightlife

Panaji: Youths from other states prefer to work in fake call centres operated in Goa because of nightlife, weekend parties, enjoyment and the state’s tourist status, Goa police said.

The fake call centres have been involved in cheating Americans on the pretext of approving their loans and medical billing advances, among other schemes, through a fake call centre.

Goa police busted a total of over 20 fake call centres in the state last year and arrested more than 50 youths from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Delhi, Haryana, Nagaland and Manipur. The youths are in the age group of 25 to 30 years. Most of the accused running these call centres are from Gujarat.

“The fake call centre operators recruit youths who have completed graduation and are fluent in English. They also see a youth’s skill to manipulate while attending a call. Most of the youths are recruited through fake recruitment agencies or through social media,” a senior police officer investigating the cases said.

The officer said that fake call centres are operated across the country, but youths prefer to move to Goa to work in fake call centres as they are attracted towards posh nightlife and fun.

Once the youths are recruited, they are trained before allowing them to handle customers.

“There is a standard script which is provided to them at the time of training with all the necessary information to handle customer queries,” the officer said.

The owners of the fake call centres have tie-ups with agencies aboard, and they divert the calls to Goa. “The local operators provide over Rs 4,000 to the person who diverts calls,” the police officer said.

“All day the youths go around and enjoy themselves and in the evening, they work at the fake call centres. The salary for working in a fake call centre is between Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000, but they get incentives based on the number of people that transfer money into the account of the handlers,” the officer said.

The senior police officer said that if a youth is able to get a jackpot, like cheat a person for a crore of rupees, then the youth can get an incentive of a lakh of rupees.

The police officer said that on weekends the youths attend parties and enjoy life. During investigation, one interesting aspect that came to light was that the accused defended the crime, stating that they are not looting Indians whereas they are looting those people who have looted India for over a period, the police officer said.