In a significant cybercrime bust, Udaipur Police arrested 41 individuals, including Harsh Patel, Ashish Rajput, Keyul Shah, and Dhamil Shah, for operating a fake call centre involved in a multi-crore international scam. The operation, which was being run from Hotel Sapphire in Udaipur, targeted Canadian citizens using a new method involving QR codes and cryptocurrency.
Among the arrested, nine are women, while the four men from Gujarat played managerial roles under the direction of the alleged mastermind, Deepu Patel of Ahmedabad, who is still absconding. Police sources indicate that Deepu Patel may have connections with senior officials in Gujarat.
The scam involved impersonating Amazon representatives to falsely inform victims in Canada of undelivered packages. Victims were then pressured into scanning a QR code under the pretense of identity verification. Upon scanning, funds were drained from their bank accounts and routed into cryptocurrency wallets controlled by Deepu.
This case marks the first known instance in India where QR codes were used in a cyber scam to siphon money directly into crypto wallets.
Police raided the hotel based on a tip-off and found the operation being coordinated via a WhatsApp group managed by Deepu. Through this group, he distributed stolen data and phishing links to the employees.
The arrested individuals come from Gujarat, Manipur, Nagaland, Assam, and Delhi, reflecting the nationwide recruitment network. The Gujarat-based arrestees—Harsh Patel (Ghatlodia), Ashish Rajput (Bapunagar), Keyul Shah (Naranpura), and Dhamil Shah (Satellite)—are believed to have been the operational heads of the fake call centre.
Udaipur police have now deployed a team to Ahmedabad to apprehend Deepu Patel, with local authorities aiding the effort.
