Police in Madhya Pradesh's Gwalior district have busted a fake call centre that allegedly targeted American citizens, arresting four individuals on Sunday. The accused impersonated agents of a US-based lender to dupe victims into revealing sensitive personal information.
Operation Details and Arrests
Acting on a tip-off, officers raided Hotel Jainpath along the Agra-Mumbai National Highway, approximately 35 km from Gwalior. According to Mohana police station house officer Vinay Singh Tomar, the call centre had been operating for the past five months from the hotel premises.
Those arrested include Abhishek Rajput (26) and Shivendra Singh Parihar (31), both from Ahmedabad, Gujarat; Aryan Rajput (20) from Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh; and Shubhom Ghosh (23) from Dimapur, Nagaland. Police seized four laptops, seven mobile phones, headphones, scripts used in the fraud, customer data, and other incriminating materials.
Modus Operandi and Fraud Technique
The accused allegedly received personal data of American citizens via WhatsApp and email from the absconding mastermind, Praval Pratap Singh Parihar. They posed as representatives of the US-based "Lending Club," a legitimate peer-to-peer lending platform, to offer loans. Once they gained victims' trust, they collected social security numbers, bank details, and processing fees in the form of gift vouchers.
Tomar stated that the accused admitted to being paid a monthly salary of Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 in cash, plus a five per cent commission on the amount defrauded from each victim. The investigation revealed that the kingpin, Parihar, directed operations remotely and remains at large.
Legal Action and Ongoing Investigation
A case has been registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act. Police are actively tracing the fugitive mastermind. The bust highlights the growing sophistication of cyber fraud networks operating from India that target international victims. Authorities urge citizens to report suspicious call centres and verify the legitimacy of loan offers before sharing personal information.
