Mumbai Police  on Tuesday said it had raided a fake call centre operating out of the Goregaon area, allegedly involved in cheating American citizens.

Officials reported that 13 individuals have been arrested in connection with the case, and multiple pieces of equipment used to defraud US nationals were seized during the operation.

According to police, Unit 12 of the Mumbai Crime Branch busted an unauthorised call centre in Goregaon East, that was involved in defrauding US citizens by impersonating representatives of antivirus companies.

Acting on a tip-off, police raided the operation, which was being run from the seventh floor of a commercial complex in Goregaon East.

“The call centre sent emails to US citizens, claiming that their antivirus software such as `Greeksquad` and McAfee needed renewal. These emails included toll-free numbers. When US citizens called, they were told they must buy gift cards worth 250–500 US dollars. Those working at the call centre then converted the gift cards into cryptocurrency, thus cheating the callers,” said an official.

An official said that when the Mumbai Crime Branch team raided the premises on September 15 following a tip-off, the call centre was found to be operational. During the search, officials examined phones and computers on-site and confirmed the alleged fraudulent activity.

“The police seized 15 computers, 10 laptops and 20 mobile phones. Among those arrested were two owners or operators, one manager, and 10 telecaller agents,” said an another official.

A case has been registered under several sections along with sections of the Information Technology Act and the Telecommunications Act, 2023 and 13 accused have been arrested in the matter, the police said.

It said that the entire operation was led under the guidance of senior police officials, including Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, Additional Commissioner (Crime) Lakhmi Gautam, and Deputy Commissioners, Crime Branch, Mumbai. The team that conducted the entire operation was headed by Inspector Sachin Gawas and other officials including Balasaheb Raut, Vijay Raskar, Ajay Sawant, Altaf Khan, Sunil Chavan, Bal̤akrishna Limhaṇa, and others crime branch officials.

“The accused will be produced before a court for police custody and further investigations in the matter will follow,” said an official.

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