The cyber crime cell and cyber police station of the Lucknow commissionerate have successfully dismantled an illegal call centre operating from Vibhuti Khand, leading to the arrest of five individuals accused of defrauding job seekers across India with fraudulent placement offers in reputed companies.
Raids and Seizures
The arrests were made during a raid conducted on June 12 at the fourth floor of JS Tower. During the operation, police seized 11 keypad phones, two smartphones, an HP laptop, 102 data sheets, and 26 forged documents, including fake appointment and approval letters.
Accused Identified
The individuals taken into custody have been identified as Zeeshan Khan (30), Satish Pal (23), Sonali Chaurasia (19), Shivani Verma (21), and Neelu Verma (19).
Modus Operandi
According to police, the action was based on analysis of cybercrime data and intelligence regarding illegal call centres involved in online fraud. Investigations revealed that the gang specifically targeted unemployed youth and fresh graduates, posing as recruiters for well-known companies such as Amul, Amazon, Infosys, Flipkart, Mankind Pharma, Suzuki, Parle, and Cipla.
Verification of seized mobile numbers and IMEI details on the national cyber crime reporting portal indicated over 60 complaints from across the country, involving fraud amounting to several lakhs.
Detailed Operations
ADCP, Crime, Kiran Yadav stated that the kingpin procured data of job aspirants from employment portals. The accused used these purchased databases to contact candidates through callers employed at the call centre. Once a candidate expressed interest in securing a job, the call was transferred to senior operators who posed as recruitment executives. The fraudsters lured victims by offering high-paying jobs in reputed multinational and domestic companies. To gain credibility, they sent forged appointment letters, approval letters, and registration documents through WhatsApp.
Victims were then asked to transfer money under various pretexts, including registration and verification charges.
Ongoing Investigation
Police are currently contacting complainants to ascertain the full scale of the fraud. Citizens have been advised to report any instances of cyber fraud on helpline 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in.
