Fake call centre that extorted over Rs 25 lakh daily from US citizens busted in Pune; 5 held

Pune: Police have exposed a fake call centre in Pune that allegedly duped American citizens of over Rs 25 lakh a day by issuing arrest threats, and have taken into custody five persons operating the facility, officials said on Saturday.

The illegal call centre, Magnetel BPS & Consultants LLP, had been operating from a floor of a multi-storey commercial building in the Kharadi area since August 2024, they said.

It had hired over 120 calling agents, including a dozen women, to work on night shifts. The agents have been detained for questioning, an official said.

Acting on a tip-off, the crime branch of Pune police raided the call centre on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday when it was functioning as per the American time zones.

“The accused allegedly used to contact US nationals claiming their accounts had been misused for drug trafficking or any other fabricated crimes. They then threatened victims with arrest and coerced them into purchasing gift cards, which were later used by the accused for personal gains,” said Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma of Pune police.

Citing their preliminary probe, the official said the fake call centre allegedly extorted between 30,000 and 40,000 US dollars (more than Rs 25 lakh) from American citizens daily through ‘digital arrests’. The call centre mostly targeted senior citizens and retired persons.

In digital arrest, fraudsters impersonate law enforcement officials, using threats of arrest, frozen bank accounts, and passport cancellations to coerce victims into paying a “fine” or “security deposit” to avoid legal action.

As many as 64 laptops and 41 mobile phones were seized, the official said. Several laptops have suspicious applications, VPN software, and contact numbers of thousands of US citizens.

“The accused and their agents allegedly used caller masking software to impersonate government officials. We have also recovered scripts that the agents were given to trap American citizens,” the official said.

Another police official said that the calling agents were paid around Rs 25,000 per month. “We are checking their background. Cases will also be registered against them. They have been detained for questioning,” he said.

The arrested persons have been identified as Sarjeetsingh Girawat Singh Shekhawat from Rajasthan, and Gujarat residents Abhishek Ajaykumar Pandey, Shrimay Paresh Shah, Laxman Amarsingh Shekhawat and Aaron Aruman Christian.

Three more suspects are currently on the run, and teams have been formed to nab them, he added.