Daijiworld Media Network - Panaji
Panaji, Jul 18: The cybercrime cell of the Goa Police on Friday busted a fake call centre operating in South Goa and arrested six persons for allegedly cheating US nationals by offering fraudulent loans and instant money schemes.
Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime) Raji Raut Dessai said the call centre was allegedly operated by Visvadipsinh Harisingh Jadav (29), a resident of Bhavnagar in Gujarat, along with five staff members — Vishal Singh (24) of Sirohi, Rajasthan; Himanshu Prajapati (19) and Dhanraj Valera (24) of Ahmedabad, Gujarat; and Trushit Sawant (39) and Mayur Sawant (36) of Raigarh, Maharashtra.
According to the police, the accused impersonated representatives of a loan company operating under the name "Payday" and allegedly duped US citizens by promising loans and instant cash.
The victims were persuaded to make payments through gift cards, including Apple, Macy's, Green Dot MoneyPak, Razer Gold and Xbox gift cards, on the false assurance that they would receive loans.
During the raid, police conducted a search and seizure operation and recovered equipment worth around Rs 8 lakh. The seized items included six laptops, six headsets, a router and six Apple iPhones.
Following a technical investigation, the accused were traced and arrested by a team led by Police Inspector Deepak Pednekar, along with PSI Anil Polekar, head constables Anay Naik and Yogesh Khandeparkar, and constables Karol Ibrahim and Akshay Verlekar, under the supervision of SP Dessai.
The accused were produced before a court, which remanded them to police custody. Further investigation is underway, police said.