The Cyberabad police on Saturday apprehended nine people for allegedly operating an 'international fake call centre' that targeted Australian citizens.
During the investigation, it emerged that the key accused, Praveen and Prakash, had brought in personnel from Kolkata to work at the call centre.
According to a Cyberabad police release, the fraudsters made calls to Australian citizens and deceived them into transferring large sums of money from their bank accounts to various Australian accounts owned by Indian nationals residing in Australia.
The illegally acquired funds were then routed to India through multiple channels, including hawala networks, cryptocurrency transactions and other covert methods.
Over the past two years, the group allegedly amassed and transferred Rs 8-10 crore from unsuspecting victims, primarily Australian citizens.
The prime accused, cousins from Telangana’s Khammam district, established the fake call centre in 2024.
They hired seven people from Kolkata, accommodated them in Madhapur and trained them to make fraudulent calls to Australians, the release said.
The accused also collected bank account details from Indian students studying in Australia and used those accounts to receive the illegally obtained money, it added.
The investigation revealed a coordinated international cyber fraud in which Praveen and his team received "leads" from an unidentified group. This group sent fake pop-ups and emails to Australian citizens, falsely claiming their computers had been compromised, and provided a fake "customer care" number.
When victims called the number, the calls were routed to the call centre in Madhapur. The accused then convinced victims to allow remote access to their computers, gained entry into their online banking accounts and transferred large sums to Australian bank accounts of Indian nationals.
The money was later routed to India through hawala, cryptocurrency and other clandestine channels, police said.
Two more individuals from Khammam handled the daily operations of the centre. While nine people have been arrested, others involved are yet to be apprehended, the release added.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
