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Ahmedabad: Fraudsters running fake call center rackets have adopted a new method. They target citizens in the US and Canada, luring them to $5,000 in aid to cope with the crisis caused by the COVID pandemic, and taking $2,000 from them in return.
These call centers are run on small shops, cars, autorickshaws or even scooters which are mainly located in East Ahmedabad, mostly in GIDC.
Police sources said, “The miscreants call the foreigners, ask them if they have suffered a financial setback during Covid and provide them with immediate relief of $5,000. If the person agrees, they ask the victim to pay $2,000 to get immediate help. Once the money is paid, the criminals disappear.
These accused also send messages to foreign nationals using the dark web, showing that some amount has been deposited in their account. “They create fake cellphone numbers or dummy bank websites through which they send messages,” the official said.
Earlier, scamsters duped foreigners by giving them payday loans or threatened to implicate them in false drug cases. “With increased awareness, the targets feel that they are being duped and dial up the security agencies. So, criminals have come up with a new modus operandi,” said another officer. Many of them operate from industrial areas of Vatva GIDC and Narol where they have set up call centers in internal units, he said. This method is also being used by fake call centers in Mewat and Alwar to dupe Indians.
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