Mumbai Crime: Fake call centre targeting foreigners busted from Andheri

Mumbai: The city crime branch has busted a fake call centre racket in Andheri (west) area and arrested two persons for allegedly duping hundreds of Americans on the pretext of cleaning their computers from virus. The accused are identified as Waqar Daiyan Azmi (35) and Maitry Mahesh Parab (21). The main accused is still at large, said an official.

Acting of a tip-off, a team from crime branch unit 9 raided the call centre named 'Lummination’ in Adarsh Nagar in Oshiwara. The investigation revealed that the accused used to target foreign nationals, mostly Americans. The accused used to call the foreigners through VOIP calls claiming that their computers are infected with virus. The money has been charged in the name of cleaning their computer system from the virus.

To avoid suspicion, the accused took money in the form of gift vouchers and then transferred it into Indian currency. During the raid, 7 laptops, hard discs, several mobile phones and routers were seized.

The call centre was operational over six months and may have duped many foreigners so far, claimed an official.