Agra Police Uncovers Fake Call Center Scamming 2,500 People Across 15 States

Agra, August 9: In a significant crackdown against cybercrime, Agra police have arrested four individuals operating a fake call center. These suspects were defrauding people across various states in India under the pretense of offering job placements.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Aditya Kumar addressed the media, stating that a joint operation was conducted by the counter-intelligence and cyber surveillance teams, along with staff from the Tajganj police station, leading to the arrests.

Among the arrested, one suspect hails from Bihar and has a prior criminal record, while another is from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh. The remaining two suspects are women from Agra.

A senior police official revealed that the group deceived victims by claiming to offer jobs at a non-existent company. The scam was executed in three stages. Initially, potential candidates received calls regarding job vacancies, followed by requests for a ‘registration fee’ via QR codes or UPI transfers.

DCP Aditya Kumar elaborated that in the second stage, once victims were convinced, the suspects demanded an additional payment of around ₹8,800 for positions such as ‘supervisor’ or ‘guard.’ After transferring the initial funds, victims were then asked to pay approximately ₹10,000 more for a fake joining letter.

According to police inquiries, the suspects have been operating this scam from Agra for nearly two years and have been involved in various other cybercrimes across the country.

DCP Kumar stated, “So far, the accused have defrauded approximately 2,500 individuals across 15 states.”

Authorities recovered a significant amount of evidence from the suspects, including 10 mobile phones, 35 bank passbooks, multiple checkbooks, 28 ATM cards from different banks, eight SIM cards, seven Aadhaar cards, six PAN cards, two voter ID cards, 12 QR codes, a laptop, a desktop, and other items.

Further investigations are ongoing to determine how the suspects acquired the victims’ contact information and how they utilized the money obtained through these fraudulent activities.