Once a problem confined to major metropolitan areas, sophisticated fake call centres running international scams have now deeply entrenched themselves in the smaller towns and industrial hubs of Maharashtra. This alarming shift, powered by cheap real estate, unregulated internet, and a ready pool of English-speaking youth, is posing a significant challenge to law enforcement agencies across the state.
The Systemic Gaps Enabling Fraud
According to senior police officials who have led multiple raids, the proliferation of these illicit operations is fundamentally enabled by weak systemic checks. A senior IPS officer highlighted that easy access to internet services without proper verification is a primary facilitator. "These bogus call centres operate because they obtain internet connections effortlessly from service providers," the officer explained. The absence of robust monitoring agencies means that all an operator needs is a registered firm certificate, often acquired using fabricated documents, to secure a high-speed connection.
The problem is compounded by fragmented regulatory oversight and limited coordination between local police and central investigative bodies. These loopholes allow fraudulent centres to be resurrected almost as quickly as they are shut down. Over the past year, Maharashtra Police have conducted busts in locations like Igatpuri, Nashik, and Aurangabad, indicating a clear geographical spread beyond Mumbai and Pune.
From Apartments to Global Crime Hubs
The modus operandi is deceptively simple. After registering a firm with bogus papers and obtaining a licence under the Shop and Establishment Act from municipal authorities, operators rent apartments in residential buildings. The setup requires minimal infrastructure: chairs, tables, laptops, and a VoIP-enabled internet connection. From these inconspicuous locations, teams begin targeting victims overseas.
Police classify these illegal centres into two broad categories: financial and non-financial. Both types leverage basic networking knowledge and often recruit individuals with prior experience in legitimate Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) units.
Financial scam centres engage in high-value frauds including fake trading and investment schemes, loan and insurance fraud, and impersonation of officials like US tax authorities. They lure victims into bogus mutual fund and insurance product investments.
Non-financial centres typically pose as tech support, targeting customers with fabricated software or router issues. They use Google AdWords to place ads that prompt overseas customers to call. These operations also illegally sell medicines like Viagra to victims in countries such as the US, UK, and Canada. A common thread is the use of a foreign partner who provides local contact details to lend credibility to the scam.
Hinterland Workforce and Official Complicity Concerns
The expansion into tier-2 cities and townships is strategically linked to the availability of a low-cost, computer-literate, and English-speaking workforce. Semi-urban districts, with their growing number of IT courses and BPO training institutes, provide a steady supply of youth that scam operators readily exploit.
The scale of fraud has prompted intervention from central agencies. In August and September 2025, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided two call centres in Nashik and Igatpuri, suspecting the involvement of public servants, including police and bank officials, and made several arrests. Following large financial transactions linked to these cases, the Enforcement Directorate's Mumbai unit initiated money trail investigations in November 2025.
Despite heightened vigilance, the problem persists. While nine illegal centres were busted in Mumbai in 2024, the number slightly increased to ten raids in the city in 2025. Monitoring remains a challenge, as a senior officer noted, "Lakhs of people use the internet, so monitoring each individual or entity is difficult without specific intelligence." Sometimes, illegal operations run alongside legitimate call centre sections within the same campus, further complicating detection.
The situation underscores a pressing need for stronger inter-agency coordination, stricter verification processes for business and internet registrations, and dedicated oversight mechanisms to curb this growing threat that is tarnishing India's reputation as a BPO hub and causing significant financial harm to victims globally.
