In a significant crackdown, the Noida Cyber Crime team, in a joint operation with Sector 63 police, has dismantled a sophisticated fake call centre that allegedly duped hundreds of people across India under the guise of renewing their insurance policies. The raid led to the arrest of thirteen individuals, including the alleged mastermind.
The Raid and Arrests
The operation was launched on Tuesday after a detailed investigation triggered by a complaint from a woman based in Maharashtra. She reported being cheated by callers who promised to renew her insurance policy. Acting on her complaint, cyber police officials traced the origin of the fraudulent calls and gathered technical evidence.
Two teams then conducted a raid on a call centre operating under the name "Grow Up" in Sector 63. During the operation, authorities seized crucial evidence including laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, call scripts, diaries, and various insurance-related documents.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime) Shavya Goyal stated that initial checks suggested the call centre was legitimate, as it had official tie-ups with two reputed insurance companies and possessed valid paperwork. However, a deeper probe uncovered a parallel, illicit operation running from within the same facility.
Modus Operandi of the Fraud
The accused ran an elaborate scam, as revealed by police investigations. They contacted policyholders, often using confidential customer data obtained through unknown means, which is now a separate line of inquiry. The fraudsters used fake names and addresses to pose as legitimate insurance agents.
Their tactics included luring victims with offers to:
- Revive lapsed insurance policies.
- Provide special bonuses or additional benefits on existing policies.
- Offer new policies with high surrender value or maturity amounts.
Once convinced, victims were persuaded to transfer money into bank accounts controlled by the gang. The accused used fake SIM cards and 'mule' bank accounts to siphon off the illicit funds, which were later distributed among the members. Police estimate that over 300 people nationwide fell prey to this network, which had been active for nearly five years.
The Accused and a Well-Organised Network
The arrested individuals have been identified as:
- Chhatrapal Sharma (Kingpin, from Hapur)
- Satyam Singh and Raj Salauddin (from Bihar)
- Sameer Ahmed, Ishwar Karmali, Mohammad Asif, and Suhail (from Delhi)
- Suhail Khan (from Bulandshahr)
- Vivek Kumar (from Ghaziabad)
- Sumit (from Noida)
- Rajeev Kumar (from Kasganj)
- Mithilesh (from Bahraich)
- Hariom (from Kushinagar)
Notably, the alleged kingpin, Chhatrapal Sharma, holds an MBA degree, and several other accused are graduates, pointing to a well-organised and educated fraud network. Police have frozen 12 bank accounts linked to the scam and seized two laptops, 31 mobile phones, and transaction diaries.
The investigation continues as authorities probe deeper into how the gang accessed sensitive customer data from various insurance companies and the full extent of the financial fraud.
