Another call centre racket which duped US citizens busted

Thane police here on Friday claimed to have busted another fake call centre racket in the district which allegedly duped USA residents by offering them loans and extracting money in the name of commission or processing fee.

A similar racket had come to light in the district last year.

The Crime Branch of Thane police raided Mount Logic Solutions, a BPO, at Anand Nagar in Ambarnath of the district last night and unearthed the racket, said Joint Commissioner of police Madhukar Pandey.

As many as 25 people, some women working at the call centre, have been taken into police custody and are being questioned, Pandey said, adding 31 hard disks, three laptops and several documents were seized during the raid.

The call centre staff used to make phone calls to people in the United States offering loans in easy instalments. The victims would be asked to pay commission or processing charges, ranging from 20 to 30 per cent of the loan amount, police said.

The staff of the call centre used to identify themselves as calling from 'Columbus Bank'. After the commission was paid, contact with the victims would be cut off leaving them high and dry without the loan, they said.

The call centre was owned by Jaya Gunjal, who earned Rs 7 to Rs 8 lakh per month. It was running since 2015, the police said, adding the staff were trained in American accent.

The gullible victims would be asked to pay the commission and other processing charges through iTune cards. A 16-digit number generated in the process would be obtained from the victims to siphon off the money.

A case has been registered on the charge of cheating and under the Information Technology Act and the Indian Telegraph Act at Shivaji Nagar police station in Ambarnath.

Last year, police had unearthed a similar racket which operated through call centres in Mira Road locality of Thane district and had arrested over 75 persons including the alleged mastermind Sagar Thakkar.