Goa: 7 held for cheating US citizens through fake call centre

PANAJI — Goa police have arrested seven persons for allegedly cheating US citizens through a fake call centre, officials said on Saturday.

Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crime), Rahul Gupta, said the accused persons were running a fake call centre from a hotel room at Calangute in North Goa.

“They impersonated agents from loan companies, Amazon HQ staff, bank employees, government agencies, and law enforcement agencies, thereby cheating innocent citizens from the US. Our investigation has revealed that the accused made voice calls to US citizens and those who continued with the calls were induced to transfer money,” Gupta said.

The arrested persons hail from Gujarat, Nagaland, Rajasthan, and Assam.

“Four laptops, one TP-Link router, and a D-Link switch were seized from the hotel room, which will be sent for cyber forensic examination,” the SP said.

A case has been registered under the relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act.