This story is from January 25, 2020

Gurugram: This call centre cheated US, Mexico buyers with Amazon gift cards

A call centre that allegedly cheated US and Mexico residents by luring them to buy fake Amazon gift cards has been busted in Udyog Vihar and 30 youths arrested from there. Police said this sham centre had been operating for the past three months and had collected around $1 lakh (Rs 70-75 lakh) during the period by cheating targets.
Gurugram: This call centre cheated US, Mexico buyers with Amazon gift cards
Of the 30 youths who were detained, 25 are boys and the remaining girls.
GURUGRAM: A call centre that allegedly cheated US and Mexico residents by luring them to buy fake Amazon gift cards has been busted in Udyog Vihar and 30 youths arrested from there. Police said this sham centre had been operating for the past three months and had collected around $1 lakh (Rs 70-75 lakh) during the period by cheating targets.
The call centre, which did not have any licence or permission to operate, would send messages to targets saying their Amazon accounts had witnessed some “unusual activity” and would be blocked soon.
The caller urged the gullible targets to dial a toll free number and buy Amazon gift cards worth $100-150 in exchange for the solution offered. The money would then be routed to India through bank accounts in Europe and China, the police said. The cops added they were looking for three men who were running the call centre.
Sources in the police said they had recently got a tip-off about the sham call centre and carried out the search in its Udyog Vihar office on Thursday night. The cops have informed Amazon authorities that its name was being used illegally. The e-commerce giant is likely to join the case as a complainant. Currently, the cops are probing the case on a complaint by Vivek Kundu, the station house officer of Cyber police station.
“We have informed Amazon and their legal team is expected to get in touch with us. We will also try to identify some of the victims and make them witnesses to strengthen our case,” said ACP Karan Goyal. He added that the call centre was being run by three men — Munish, Vishal and Umesh Sharma — who are on the run.
The bogus centre was operating out of the first floor of a building in Udyog Vihar Phase 4. The office can accommodate no more than 40 people. “The office was searched on Thursday night and around 30 youths working there were detained,” said Goyal.
Of the 30 youths who were detained, 25 are boys and the remaining girls. Most of them joined the call centre after finishing Class 12 and were paid around Rs 15,000 to Rs 2000 a month. Police said 10 of them are from the Northeast, while the remaining are from UP, Delhi and Punjab.

The youths were learnt to have told the cops that they were not aware that they were cheating people by asking them to buy fake Amazon gift cards and were instead given the impression that it was an original back office of the e-tailer.
The script they would read out to their targets in the US and Mexico and other voice samples were sent to them by the three alleged masterminds. When the targets would dial the toll free number — 1-855-918-0438 — from any country, the call would land in the Gurugram office and the employees would read from the script in a heavily accented voice.
They would receive the link and details of the gift cards through online chats, the police said.
The gang would not ask the targets to pay money online — lest it might arouse suspicion — but ask them to buy gift cards. “The money they earned through these gift cards would be routed through Europe and China,” said Goyal.
A case has been registered against the call centre employees under sections 420 (cheating), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and sections 66D (cheating by personation by using computer resource) and 75 (committing offence outside India using computer network) of the IT Act at Cyber police station.
Goyal said they would use the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) and take help from FBI to get details of the cheated US residents. The police have already sought details of nearly 100-150 people and their legally vetted statements. The officer explained that MLAT is an agreement among two or more countries for the purpose of gathering and exchanging information in an effort to enforce public or criminal laws. India has such an agreement with 39 countries, including the US.
Since the Cyber police station was established in March 2018 to deal with online crimes, it has busted at least 13 sham call centres. But conviction of the accused is a huge problem in such cases for want of witnesses who would eventually stand up in court, officers said.
Many of those operating bogus call centres and found involved in cheating foreign nationals have walked free for lack of testimony. Police said they were trying to plug this lacuna so that more accused are brought to book.
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