Noida Police Bust Major Tech Support Scam, Arrest 16 Including Mastermind
In a significant crackdown on cyber crime, the Noida police have dismantled a sophisticated tech support racket with the arrest of 16 individuals, including the alleged mastermind, following a raid on a call centre in Sector 16 on Thursday. The operation has exposed a well-organized fraud scheme targeting foreign nationals through deceptive online advertisements.
Modus Operandi: From Ads to Extortion via Cryptocurrency
According to police officials, the accused, led by mastermind Varun Gupta, lured victims by placing paid advertisements on the internet and social media platforms. These ads featured toll-free numbers masquerading as legitimate tech support or customer care services. When foreign nationals called these numbers, the calls were routed directly to the fraudsters' systems using specialized calling software.
The scammers then posed as technical support agents, falsely claiming that the victim's computer or mobile device had been hacked. To gain trust, they instructed targets to download screen-sharing applications, granting them remote access to the systems. Fear was instilled by manipulating the computer screen to go blank, causing panic and making victims more susceptible to manipulation.
Once access was secured, the accused extracted confidential banking information. For accounts with smaller balances, they charged fees ranging from $100 to $500 under the guise of fixing the computer. However, for more substantial accounts, the calls were escalated to senior fraudsters who coerced victims into paying larger sums, often demanding payments in cryptocurrency to obscure the money trail.
Evidence and Arrests: A Network of Educated Fraudsters
During the raid, police seized substantial evidence, including four laptops, 15 desktops, 15 monitors, 16 mobile phones, 16 microphone-headsets, two routers, and one modem. Initial investigations have uncovered transaction records worth crores of rupees from the recovered devices.
All 16 accused are graduates with proficiency in English, as confirmed by Deputy Commissioner of Police Shavya Goyal. Besides Varun Gupta, the other arrested individuals have been identified as Vivek Thakur, Gaurav Singh, Gaurav Gupta, Abhishek Masih, Ashwani Kumar, Rohan Sharma, Sant Kumar, Upendra Singh alias Rohit Singh, Ankush Chaurasia, Ayush Chaubey, Sudeep Singh, Anupam Saxena, Abhishek Maurya, Shivam Pathak, and Pradeep Kumar Singh. They hail from Noida, Delhi, Ghaziabad, and Punjab.
Legal Action and Ongoing Investigation
The Cyber Crime station has registered a case against the accused under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act. Police are intensively probing the mastermind's role, the funding sources, and potential foreign connections of the call centre network. Officials have indicated that more arrests are likely as the investigation progresses, suggesting the racket may have broader implications.
This bust highlights the growing threat of tech support scams in the digital age, where fraudsters exploit remote access tools and cryptocurrency to commit cross-border crimes. Authorities urge the public to exercise caution with unsolicited tech support offers and verify the legitimacy of customer care numbers before sharing sensitive information.
