Assam Police bust cyber fraud network, 5 arrested

The Assam Police have busted an international cyber fraud racket in Guwahati and arrested at least five persons in connection, officials said on Saturday.

The police on Friday evening also shut down several city-based call centres and fake customer care centres.

Of the five arrested persons, three were identified as Debajyoti Dey (31), Rajan Sidana (39), and Divyam Arora (31).

Meanwhile, with the assistance of the Bajali Police, two masterminds who had managed to flee Guwahati, were captured late Friday night near Bhabanipur in Barpeta district.

However, their identities have not been revealed.

During the raids, 191 workers from the call centres -- 144 men and 47 women -- were detained.

They are from Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Punjab, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and West Bengal.

At least 164 desktop computers, 90 laptops, 26 mobile phones, and other electronic devices were also seized.

Guwahati police commissioner Diganta Barah said: “Based on intelligence reports, some scammer gangs operating in Guwahati are running call centers across India and defrauding and scamming Indians and foreigners by creating ‘Tech Support’ Pop-Ups on users' computers and posing as legitimate customer service representatives to trick people into parting with their money or personal information by making a variety of false claims.”

A case has been registered at Cyber Police Station in Guwahati.

According to Barah, the gang is suspected of stealing millions of rupees from trusting victims.

He explained that they would call people who had not requested to speak to them, pose as representatives of well-known businesses or organisations, and lure them into downloading remote desktop software or divulging personal information.

“The conmen would utilise this information to steal money from the victims' bank accounts or sell their personal data on the dark web,” the Guwahati police commissioner said.

Meanwhile, the police are looking into the situation more and are attempting to find the fugitive masterminds.

Additionally, they advise individuals not to divulge any sensitive information over the phone and to be on the lookout for such scams.