Assam Police Uncovers International Online Scamming Racket:
In a significant development, the Assam Police‘s crime branch has successfully dismantled a massive international online scamming operation operating from various locations in Guwahati and its surroundings. This operation led to the arrest of a total of 191 individuals, comprising 47 females and three masterminds.
Guwahati’s Commissioner of Police, Diganta Barah, revealed that the police had been diligently working to uncover this racket over the past few weeks. He informed reporters that police teams conducted raids at eight different locations, including residences, commercial buildings, and shopping malls, resulting in the confiscation of 164 desktop computers, 90 laptops, 26 mobile phones, and various electronic devices. Barah emphasized that these raids were meticulously planned by a team of investigators. The operations commenced on Thursday night and continued through Friday afternoon.
The arrested individuals are aged between 21 and 25 years old. The three masterminds behind the operation were also apprehended during the raids. They have been identified as Debajyoti Dey, alias David, from Karimganj (aged 30-31), Rajen Sidana from Ludhiana (owner of two call centers), and Dibyam Arora from Delhi (aged 31). The raids took place in various parts of Guwahati, including Bamunimaidan, Borbari, Rajgarh, Gandhibasti, ABC Point, and Ganeshguri, where several incriminating documents were recovered as evidence.
In addition, a call center located in Rajgarh’s Borbora complex, allegedly under the name of Tasdiqur Rahman and operating from Noida, was also raided. Police detained 21 individuals from there, with only three hailing from Assam. It has been revealed that these fraudulent call centers had international connections, collaborating with criminal groups in Delhi, Gurgaon, and other locations. Online scammers are targeting online gamers who are working always on online games.
The victims of this scam included both Indian and international individuals, with financial losses incurred, often involving payments in dollars. The scammers would transfer these funds to other accounts via hawala channels. The investigation exposed that the scammers frequently relocated their call centers to different areas to evade detection. Recruitment for these operations primarily occurred via social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Employees of these centers received incentives based on the number of successful scams they carried out.
The scammers’ methods involved deploying tech-support personnel and utilizing pop-up ads and toll-free numbers to deceive victims into believing they were contacting legitimate service centers. Some victims fell for these traps, providing scammers access to their devices and sensitive personal information. Scammers would then coerce victims into making payments through Bitcoin or gift vouchers. Commissioner Barah also issued a caution to property owners, urging them to be vigilant when renting out their buildings to prevent the establishment of such illegal operations. He indicated that more individuals connected to the scamming network would be arrested soon, as the police continued their efforts to dismantle the entire operation.
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