Delhi Police bust fake call centre targeting US citizens, 7 arrested

New Delhi, Dec 18:  The Cyber Cell of the Crime Branch, Delhi Police, has busted an illegal international call centre operating from Gujranwala Town in North Delhi that was impersonating Apple Technical Support to defraud US citizens, officials said on Thursday.

Seven key operatives have been arrested in the case, which involved siphoning off money through cryptocurrency transactions.

According to the Delhi Police, the illegal call centre had been running for the past four months from a well-furnished flat in a residential society at Model Town. The accused targeted US nationals by posing as Apple support executives and exploiting their trust to gain unauthorised access to personal devices.

During the raid, the Crime Branch recovered seven high-end laptops, 16 mobile phones, VoIP and networking equipment, along with documents containing sensitive banking details of US citizens.

The seized devices were installed with MICRO SIP software, which enabled the accused to receive toll-free number calls from victims in the United States seeking Apple technical support.

Police said the modus operandi involved multiple layers. Tele-callers first convinced victims to install remote access applications on their devices under the pretext of resolving technical issues.

Once access was obtained, personal and financial data were compromised. In the next stage, another set of callers impersonated bankers or financial institution representatives and persuaded victims to purchase Bitcoin from kiosks in the US.

Victims were then manipulated into sharing Bitcoin wallet QR codes or private keys, allowing the accused to transfer the cryptocurrency into their own wallets.

The arrested accused include Aman Singh and Janpreet Singh, who acted as supervisors and handled Bitcoin wallets, along with five tele-callers operating the scam. Most of the accused are in their early to mid-twenties, with educational qualifications ranging from middle school to MBA.

Several US citizens’ contact details, banking information, and cryptocurrency wallet data were recovered from the seized devices, indicating the scale of the fraud.

Police believe the proceeds of crime were laundered entirely through Bitcoin to avoid detection.

“Further investigation is underway to identify additional accomplices, financial trails, and international linkages,” said DCP Aditya Gautam.

--IANS