Fifteen individuals, including three women, were apprehended on Friday for allegedly defrauding US citizens by posing as technology support representatives, according to senior police officials.
The suspects had relocated their operations from Mumbai to Noida just a month prior and are believed to be part of a broader network involved in cyber fraud, the officials noted.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Rambadan Singh stated that the suspects operated from a rented office in Sector 59, Noida.
“Noida police received intelligence regarding a fake call center functioning in a Sector 59 building. Consequently, officers from the Sector 58 police station executed a search operation on Friday and detained 15 individuals on-site,” Singh explained.
The police recovered a substantial amount of equipment from the suspects, including 27 laptops, 20 headphone sets, 16 mobile phones, two internet switches, and one router. A reward of Rs25,000 has been announced for the team involved in the operation.
The detained individuals include Nikhil Rana (36), identified as the operation’s manager and mastermind, along with Virendra Rawat (32), Sanket Shah (32), Mohammad Ali (33), Shahrukh Khan (23), Khan Mohammad Danish (25), and Numer (30), all hailing from Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Other suspects include Sameer (30) and Harish (40) from Thane, Maharashtra; Ubaid (31) and Venson (27) from Dimapur, Nagaland; and Amanda (31) and Kavinay (21) from Tamogo, Manipur.
According to Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Manish Mishra, three more gang members—Sami, Wasim alias Wahid, and Montu—are currently at large.
“The suspects would send pop-up messages to US citizens indicating their bank accounts had been compromised, displaying a contact number for assistance. Posing as tech support agents for companies like Microsoft, they would connect with victims and feign resolving their issues,” Mishra elaborated.
“They collected payments via Bitcoin or other digital payment platforms from companies like Apple, Walmart, and Flipkart. These transactions were documented in a Telegram group, with Montu, who remains at large, converting the virtual currency to cash. The gang is suspected of defrauding Americans of Rs50 lakh monthly since commencing operations in Noida. Efforts are underway to trace the accounts linked to these transactions,” Mishra added.
Amit Kumar, Station House Officer of the Sector 58 police station, noted, “Before relocating to Noida, this gang was based in Mumbai. We suspect connections with additional gangs, including those operating internationally. The investigation is ongoing, and we aim to determine the total number of victims.”
