The UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) has revealed details of a major international crackdown on a fraudulent call centre operating out of Noida, India. This operation was part of an “18-month groundbreaking collaboration” involving the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the NCA, the FBI, and tech company Microsoft.
The investigation began early last year when NCA officers based in the US received critical intelligence from Microsoft. This data was matched with reports from Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud. Intelligence was then shared with the CBI through the NCA and the FBI’s Delhi office, which led to swift action and the arrest of two suspects.
According to the NCA, the call centre targeted more than 100 people in the UK, who were misled by pop-up messages warning of security issues with their computers. The fraudsters pretended to be Microsoft employees and charged fees to fix non-existent problems. UK victims alone are believed to have lost over GBP 390,000.
After it was found that American citizens were also being targeted by the same call centre, authorities in the UK and US agreed to share intelligence. The scammers used various methods to hide their identity, including spoofing phone numbers and routing calls through multiple servers using Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) across different countries.
“The activity followed 18 months of groundbreaking collaboration between the CBI, NCA, the FBI and Microsoft – who worked together to identify the organised crime group, analyse data and target complex IT infrastructure used by fraudsters,” the NCA said in a statement.
“This case demonstrates the success we can have when we harness expertise from across the public and private sectors, and work hand in hand with partners abroad to target fraudsters, wherever they are,” said Nick Sharp, Deputy Director of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC). “It is an outstanding example of the value of the operational arrangement reached between the UK and the US last year specifically to tackle call centre fraud,” he added.
The NCA, FBI, and Microsoft identified several key suspects based in India and built a strong case using victim testimonies, with support from the City of London Police.
Earlier this year, during a visit to India, the NCA briefed the CBI to strengthen efforts to fight international fraud. The NCA confirmed that it will continue working with Indian authorities to ensure justice for the UK victims.
“Public-private partnerships are crucial to tackling tech support fraud as law enforcement and tech companies see different aspects of the cybercrime ecosystem. By joining forces and sharing our insights, we’re able to more effectively dismantle fraudulent networks and protect vulnerable populations,” said Steven Masada, Assistant General Counsel for Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit.
Tor Garnett, Commander for Cyber and Economic Crime at the City of London Police, added, “As the national lead force for fraud, we know that combating this type of crime requires a truly collaborative approach. This operation demonstrates the strength of our partnerships – not just across UK law enforcement, but internationally and with private sector organisations.”
UK Fraud Minister Lord David Hanson stated, “As we’ve seen in this case, tackling fraud needs global action, and that’s why international cooperation such as the new UNODC-INTERPOL Global Fraud Summit, is an important way to share knowledge and catch these criminals.” “I would like to express my gratitude to US and Indian partners for their collaboration in this operation,” he added.
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