Seven tele-callers held for posing as taxmen to dupe US nationals

The Thane (rural) police busted a cartel of tele-callers in Bhayandar for running a racket similar to the one exposed in 2016 at call centres in Mira Road where the employees duped foreign nationals by posing as Internal Revenue Service (IRS) officials.

Acting on a tip-off, a team led by Additional SP Atul Kulkarni, raided a flat in the Ideal Park area on Saturday and arrested seven people who duped US nationals by posing as IRS officials.

In a striking similarity to the 2016 scam, the accused would make calls to US-based taxpayers and tricked them into transferring money by threatening penal action if they failed to pay the government dues.

The fraudsters reportedly sourced contacts from illegal data brokers and hackers. The information included personal details like credit/ debit card numbers, loan details and tax liability, thus making them more vulnerable to the con. “Armed with the data base, the fraudsters used a software to ensure that a US location showed up on their phones. Once the target fell prey, they would direct him/her to buy gift cards and immediately transfer the money which was later used to buy bitcoins that were finally encashed in Indian currency,” said Kulkarni.

In a striking similarity to a 2016 scam, the accused would make calls to US-based taxpayers and tricked them into transferring money by threatening penal action if they failed to pay the govt dues

The tele-callers even posed as personnel from anti-virus companies. While the police are working their way up the chain of command of the call centre.

The accused, identified as Jubeir Shaikh (26), Savio Gonsalves (42), Raju Rathod (29), Harsh Kaazi (23), Siddarth Pillai (22), Saurabh Jha (29) and Siddhi Nair (25), have been booked under the relevant sections of the IPC, Information & Technology Act-2008 and Indian Telegraph Act-1985. The financial ramification of the scam is being ascertained.