|
The Kolkata Cyber Police has busted an illegal international call centre operating from a residential apartment in south Kolkata and arrested eight persons for allegedly impersonating Microsoft and cheating victims in the United States, police said on Friday.
The raid was conducted on Friday (February 6) at a residential unit in Greenfield City, located in the Jote Shibrampur area under the Maheshtala police station limits. The arrests were made in connection with Kolkata Cyber Police Station case dated November 1, 2025, registered under Sections 66, 66C, 66D, 84B and 43 of the Information Technology Act, 2000, read with Sections 61(2), 319(2), 318(4), 336(2), 336(3), 338 and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. Acting on credible source information and leads obtained from previously arrested accused persons in the same case, the cyber police conducted a raid within the jurisdiction of Maheshtala Police Station in the early hours of Friday. "Based on sustained technical analysis and inputs gathered during the investigation, a targeted operation was carried out. During the raid, eight accused were found actively operating an illegal call centre impersonating Microsoft and targeting victims in the United States," an official said in a release. Those arrested have been identified as Junaid Ali (24) of Garden Reach, Md. Sakir (24) of Entally, Md. Khurshid Akhtar (32) of Beniapukur, Shadab Khan (31) of Entally, Kundan Roy (24) of Tiljala, Md. Hussain Ahmed Khan (36) of New Market, Zakir Khan (45) of Shrirampur in Hooghly district, and Sk. Amirulla (18) of Karaya. During the operation, police seized a substantial amount of evidence directly linked to the alleged fraud. The total seizure included five laptops, two Wi-Fi routers, twelve mobile phones, and a large volume of digital leads and incriminating electronic data. "All seizures were carried out under proper seizure lists, in the presence of witnesses and local police personnel, while strictly following due legal procedures," the official said. According to investigators, the accused were associates of individuals arrested earlier in the case and were operating a fraudulent call centre that impersonated Microsoft. The syndicate allegedly circulated selected contact credentials on various websites and social media platforms in the United States, falsely projecting them as official Microsoft customer and technical support numbers. "When victims contacted these numbers, often through Microsoft Teams, the accused posed as Microsoft customers or technical support executives," the official said. Under the guise of providing technical support or facilitating refunds for Microsoft accounts, victims were persuaded to install remote access applications such as TeamViewer, UltraViewer, and AnyDesk. This enabled the accused to gain unauthorised access to the victims' computer systems. "Once access was obtained, the fraudsters illegally accessed victims' internet banking accounts, including accounts with Bank of America, Wells Fargo, TD Bank and Navy Federal Credit Union," the official added. Police said the funds were then siphoned off and transferred to foreign bank accounts and digital wallets, or converted into Apple Gift Cards, which were allegedly controlled by the syndicate. To conceal their identity and location, the accused used Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), including TurboVPN, and further deceived victims by using forged electronic documents purporting to be issued by Microsoft and other government and non-government organisations in the United States. Further investigation is still underway. (ANI)
|
