In a startling revelation, the Cyberabad police have dismantled an elaborate international scam operation that was being run from a fake call centre in Hyderabad. The raid, conducted on Saturday, exposed a sophisticated network where telecallers were meticulously trained to mimic Australian accents to defraud citizens thousands of miles away.
The Australian Accent Training
Investigators were taken aback by the level of detail in the operation. The telecallers had undergone rigorous training to perfect an Australian accent, learning to drop the 'r' sound at the end of words and adopting the characteristic high-rising intonation at the end of sentences. This linguistic camouflage helped them build credibility with their targets and operate undetected for an extended period.
The masterminds behind this operation had recruited several Indian students and others who had previously lived in Australia and returned to India. The police revealed that the accused leveraged these individuals' familiarity with the country not just for cultural insights but also to potentially gain access to their banking details, further facilitating the complex financial fraud.
Modus Operandi of the Scam
The group employed a sophisticated technical approach to reach their victims. They sent fake pop-ups and emails to Australian citizens, falsely claiming that their computers had been compromised. These pop-ups contained a customer care phone number that, when called, would route through the X-Lite application directly to the fake call centre operating from Ayyappa Society.
Once connected, the trained telecallers would convince victims to allow remote access to their computers using the AnyDesk application. After gaining access to online banking accounts, the criminals would illegally transfer money to specific Australian bank accounts belonging to Indian nationals who had previously resided in Australia. From these intermediary accounts, the funds were routed to India through hawala channels and cryptocurrency, creating a complex money trail difficult to trace.
Arrests and Ongoing Investigation
Cyberabad police have arrested nine telecallers, including six from West Bengal, during the raid on the building housing the illegal operation. The arrested individuals have been identified as Y Ganesh, M Chenna Kesav, M Mondal, Eazaz Ahmed, Samvit Roy, Shannik Banerjee, M Mallick, Silpi Samadder and Kunal Singh.
According to police statements, the premises had been rented under the pretext of running a legitimate call centre but was exclusively used to target Australian citizens through this sophisticated fraud. The prime accused, Praveen and Prakash from Khammam, remain at large and are believed to have coordinated with unknown cybercriminals to arm themselves with detailed information of Australian residents.
Investigators estimate that the network amassed between Rs 8 crore and Rs 10 crore in just the last two years alone, carving out a niche market for themselves and quietly siphoning significant amounts from unsuspecting victims halfway across the world.
The case highlights the evolving sophistication of cybercrime operations in India and the global nature of digital fraud. Police continue to hunt for the two kingpins while investigating the full extent of this cross-border scam network.
