Police have dismantled an illegal call centre that posed as a credit limit extension service and cheated people of nearly Rs 85 lakh. Six individuals were arrested in coordinated raids across Delhi, Haryana, and Telangana.
The case came to light in June when Virender Kumar, a 42 year old resident of Dwarka, reported receiving a call about generating a PIN for his newly issued private bank credit card. Shortly after, he discovered an unauthorised transaction of Rs 2.81 lakh from his account. A case was registered, and investigators began following the money trail.
Police revealed that the accused were operating a fake call centre from Vikaspuri in West Delhi. “They called credit card holders of private banks regarding extension of credit limit and generation of PIN for a new credit card. They would then send an APK file to a target’s phone and get unauthorised access to it, including SMS. Thereafter, they used the entire credit card limit to transfer money to mule accounts, operated by them, and purchased high value mobile phones from e commerce websites. Thereafter, they used to sell these phones to retail shops, impersonating as company dealers, offering those at discounted prices,” said Ankit Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Dwarka.
Investigations showed that calls to victims originated from Vikaspuri, while mule accounts and SIM cards used in the fraud were managed from Panipat, Bhatinda, and Hyderabad.
During raids in Delhi and Telangana, police arrested six suspects, identified as Vijay Kumar Sharma, Moolchand Mishra, Gaurav, Hemant, Amit, and Pradeep Sahu. According to police, Vijay Kumar Sharma, who is believed to be the mastermind, ran the fake call centre with the assistance of four female employees. They would first contact potential victims before transferring calls to him.
Officials said Vijay, 46, holds a Commerce degree, an LLB, and has received software training. The others have comparatively modest educational backgrounds, ranging from primary school to Class 12. Police seized 41 mobile phones, a laptop, a router, and diaries containing details of bank customers from their possession.
Investigators also confirmed that 95 complaints linked to the seized mobile phones were registered on the National Cybercrime Reporting portal. These complaints together reflect a fraud amounting to approximately Rs 85 lakh. The police team solved the case by examining IP addresses, IMEI numbers, UPI transactions, telecom records, and banking details.
This operation highlights how cyber fraud networks are increasingly using sophisticated methods such as APK files and mule accounts to exploit unsuspecting victims, while also showing how detailed technical surveillance can help law enforcement trace and dismantle such rackets.
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