Belagavi; In a major breakthrough, Belagavi City Police have dismantled a sophisticated international cyber-fraud syndicate that had been targeting citizens in the United States. Operating from an unauthorised call center on Bauxite Road in Belagavi, the racket was masquerading as representatives of Amazon and other US federal agencies to deceive unsuspecting American customers.
A total of 33 people—including operatives from Nepal and several Indian states such as Assam, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Nagaland, and Delhi—have been arrested. The police seized 37 laptops, 37 mobile phones, and three WiFi routers, collectively valued at around ₹8 lakh.
Belagavi City Police Commissioner Bhushan Borase detailed the modus operandi of the accused during a press briefing. “They would first send text messages to American citizens, claiming that an Amazon order had been placed in their name. When victims contacted the provided customer service number to dispute the order, the calls were diverted to the Belagavi call center,” he explained.
Once the victims engaged, the fraudsters would convince them that their bank accounts had been compromised. “They would then persuade victims to buy gift cards from Walmart and share the scratch card numbers. These numbers were used to siphon money into accounts controlled by the accused,” Borase said.
In some cases, the gang also impersonated Federal Trade Commission (FTC) officials, alleging that the victims’ personal details had been misused. Under this pretext, they extracted sensitive financial information. According to police, the group employed 11 distinct methods to defraud victims, showcasing the organized and technologically adept nature of the operation.
The racket came to light following a raid conducted on specific intelligence inputs. The police were assisted by an IT firm named iForce, which helped trace digital footprints and communication patterns. “Two masterminds—believed to be operating from Gujarat and West Bengal—are still at large,” Borase confirmed. “This is the first major international call center fraud unearthed in Belagavi.”
Each of the 33 accused reportedly made up to 100 fraudulent calls per day, indicating the scale of the operation. The arrested individuals had been working since March, lured by the promise of monthly salaries ranging between Rs 18,000 and Rs 45,000, along with free food and accommodation. The police suspect another batch of employees may have worked before them.
The case has been registered under Sections 66(A), 66(B), 75, 77, 48 & 49, and 42 of the Information Technology Act, along with provisions related to identity theft and cheating by persuasion. Police officials emphasized that the operation was an example of organized crime, with links possibly extending to hawala networks and darknet data markets.
“Preliminary investigation suggests that banking data may have been accessed from the darknet. We suspect the involvement of international actors who may have facilitated the gang’s setup in India,” the commissioner stated. Although no Indian citizens have been cheated in this particular case, the police believe that the gang specifically targeted Americans to avoid attracting local attention.
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