Guwahati: Maharashtra Police busted a fraudulent call centre that was defrauding Americans in Thane. The police officers informed this on Sunday.
At least 16 persons have been arrested including the owners of the contact centre Siddesh Sudhir Bhaidkar and Sania Rakesh Jaiswal in relation to the fraud.
Reportedly, the police raided a call centre in the Wagle Estate area at midnight on Saturday and arrested the employees including three women.
According to senior police inspector VB Murtadak, the accused would get in touch with the persons in the US and give them money. When they give the fraudsters their bank account information, they will steal money from their accounts.
After collecting their cut, the money would then be collected by US-based agents who would then send it to India via “Hawala,” an illicit financial transaction that bypasses established banking systems.
A complaint has been filed against the accused under the appropriate provisions of the Indian Penal Code, Information Technology Act, and Indian Telegraph Act after the police confiscated equipment, technology, and data from the call centre.
The suspects were presented to a local magistrate on Saturday and were given a seven-day hold in police custody.