Crooks operated fake call centre to prey on job seekers, fleeced hundreds over two years
The four arrested accused were brought to Mumbai on Wednesday
The Malwani police have busted a New Delhi-based gang that used to prey on job seekers across the country while running a fake call centre out of a house.
The accused have been identified as Santosh Kumar Ratansingh Kamti, 33; Aakash Shripal Yadav, 23; Altaf Husain Abdul Mannan, 23; Chanda Singh Rajesh Ray, 40; and Hemlata Rathod, 36. According to police sources, the gang duped a 19-year-old Malwani resident of R2.45 lakh last year.
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The victim, who was unemployed, was searching on Google for a job when he saw an advertisement link. When he clicked on it, he saw a portal, which resembled that of the Airports Authority of India and claimed jobs could be obtained through it at airports across India. The victim filled in his details to secure a ground
staff job. He then started receiving messages and calls from various numbers.
“The victim also called one of the numbers mentioned on the portal and shared personal information and expressed his desire to work as one of the ground staff at Mumbai airport,” said an officer of the Malwani police station.
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A woman on other side sent a link to the complainant and asked him to fill in the required details and transfer huge sums of money, such as Rs 1,500 for the form, R4,350 for uniforms and shoes, Rs 8,000 for training, Rs 10,000 for opening salary accounts, Rs 16,400 for the job agreement, Rs 25,000 for a laptop, Rs 10,000 for the laptop courier, Rs 23,000 for verification, R23,000 for preparation of documents, R22,900 for couriering the documents, Rs 22,300 in late fees, Rs 17,750 in taxes, R8,000 for an NOC, Rs 7,000 for HR training, Rs 29,000 for HR late fees, Rs 9,000 in reference ID charges and Rs 16,400 and Rs 15,000 to generate an ID.
The complainant paid these sums using Google Pay and Paytm over days, but when he started asking about the job, the caller gave him vague answers.
“Realising that he had been conned, the youth approached the Malwani police station and registered a complaint on January 30,” the officer said.
Under the guidance of DCP Ajaykumar Bansal, a special team was formed which was led by Senior Inspector Shekhar Bhalerao, Police Inspector Mahendra Suryawanshi and PSI Anurag Dixit, the Malvani police cyber officer. “After determining the identity of the beneficiary bank account holders, the police raided the place located Sunlight Colony in New Delhi and caught the accused said another officer.
Altaf Hussain and the two women were the main masterminds of the gang, which had been running the call centre for two years. They have duped hundreds of people across the country, according to the police.
“We arrested four accused and brought them to Mumbai. Hemlata Rathod received transit bail and will come to Mumbai in a couple of days for the investigation,” said the officer.
“We have seized laptops, mobile phones and several SIM cards from the accused.”
Rs 10,000
Amount he paid for opening salary accounts
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