Data bought from job portals to fleece desperate aspirants BPOs run by racketeers worry cops
Call centers or BPOs operated by racketeers who are duping people on the pretext of offering jobs and loans, particularly from North India, are a cause of concern for the state police.
The call centres, according to the police are being set up by persons who are well-versed with banking operations or associated with its outsourcing agencies. Several call centers are functioning in the areas around Delhi including Gurgaon and Noida.
“The kingpins set up the call centres and employed graduates or Intermediate passouts to cheat gullible persons on the pretext of offering loans, scholarships and businesses,” said Mr K.V.M. Prasad, inspector, lottery and fraud unit, Hyderabad crime station.
He said there were several hundred call centres operating in and around the National Capital Region of Delhi. “About 70 per cent cases of fraud reported in the city have their roots in the area. The police there helps us but much needs to be done,” he said.
An official said the police in those cities do not take preventive steps owing to which the dubious call centres have come up.
“They collect resumes from online job portals and cheat the applicants after collecting sums ranging between `10,000 and `20,000. Usually for such small amounts the victims do not come forward to lodge complaints,” an official said.
The victims are initially asked to make a payment of `10,000 to `25,000 for a job in MNCs.
The police said the conmen buy data from famous job portals for `25,000`40,000. “They create a fake placement website and make calls to job seekers that their resume has been selected for a job in leading IT, banking and international companies and demand money,” said Mr Prasad.
Data of most of job portals are compromised as they do not follow stringent processes to keep their information secure. “Sometimes, the fraudsters collect mobile numbers from some websites and use it to dupe people,” said SP, CID Cyber Crime, U. Rammohan.
The bank account, payment gateway and domain names are taken on fake identify and many a times the servers are based abroad. “The payment gate does not physically verify their client and allows payment against commission. Domain registrars and servers do not follow stringent rules and register customers with incomplete details,” said Cyberabad DCP (Crimes) Janaki Sharmila. The Hyderabad cyber crime police has registered a case against Heera Group CEO Dr Shaik Nowhera for allegedly threatening Mr Shahbaz Ahmed Khan, editor of a news channel, Bharat Ki Taraqui.
Mr Khan claimed that a fake Facebook profile on his name had been created, and alleged that lies were posted damaging his reputation.
“They have put out a hit on me and if anything were to happen to me, Hyderabad police and Shaik Nowhera should be held responsible for my death,” Mr Khan alleged.
“The fake profile with my name has content hurting my reputation and I have requested the CCS police to take necessary steps. The Heera Group files baseless cases against investors who ask for their money. I appeal to DGP M. Mahendar Reddy and Hyderabad police commissioener Anjani Kumar along with the TS government to take action against these people” Mr Khan said.
Reacting to the allegations, Ms Nowhera said “People theaten me by taking the names of cops and with police complaints. Even if people approach them, everything will come out in the open including the bank transactions, which will show the details of how much they have invested and how much they got back as profits.”
Asked about the complaint, Mr Chand Pasha, inspector, cyber crimes, Hyderabad, said the police had filed an FIR and would proceed according to the evidence collected.