Gurugram, September 2: Gurugram police have arrested 11 individuals in connection with a significant cyber fraud operation involving a fake call center. The accused were deceiving American citizens by posing as Apple customer service representatives and scamming them out of millions of dollars.
Authorities seized nine laptops, 20 mobile phones, two cars, one motorcycle, and one scooter from the suspects.
According to police, the Cyber Crime West team received a tip-off about an unauthorized call center operating from a residence in Palam Vihar, Gurugram. Acting on this information, police raided Plot Number 1208, J-Block, Palam Vihar on September 1. The suspects were found communicating in English with foreign nationals through various social media platforms using laptops, mobile phones, and headsets.
The arrested individuals have been identified as Prithpal Singh, Mohammad Rizaan Ansari, Chaitanya Goyal, Manish, Shahrukh Ansari, Sanjeev Pandey, Shivam, Aditya, Deepak Trivedi, Varun Gautam, and Neeraj. Cases have been filed against them under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act at the Cyber Crime West police station.
During interrogation, it was revealed that Prithpal Singh was the team leader of the call center. The suspects had been operating this call center from a rented house for the past two to three months. Each caller was hired on a commission basis, while the entire network was managed by another individual.
Investigations revealed that the accused would call American citizens, claiming to be representatives of Apple customer service or related companies. They instilled fear by suggesting that the victims’ mobile phones had viruses or technical issues, urging them to contact a virtual toll-free number. Subsequently, they misled victims under the pretense of resolving their issues via software and Apple FaceTime.
The fraudsters created panic by showing fake letters from the Federal Trade Commission to the American citizens, extorting amounts ranging from $10,000 to $20,000 under the guise of problem resolution. The money was deposited into foreign bank accounts provided by the call center operators. Additionally, they also engaged in fraud by acquiring gift cards and voucher numbers.
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