Telecallers during day, sex callers by night: How this Delhi 'call centre' targeted victims

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Delhi Police crime branch busted a major inter-state cyber fraud gang that was involved in bank frauds and sextortions across Delhi, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

"The racket comprised social media profile analysts, extortion callers and individuals impersonating police officers to intimidate victims with false legal threats unless they complied with extortion demands," Delhi Police Joint Commissioner Surender Kumar was quoted by TOI.

The police said the accused have been identified as Akshita, Jayshree, Pinki and Dimple, all worked as telecallers. They used to target the vulnerable and the elderly, and blackmail them using artificial intelligence (AI) beyond office hours.

The police said Jayshree, who is a graduate from Alwar University in Rajasthan, allegedly worked as a key player in a sextortion gang and lured victims into compromising situations using her charm.

Modus Operandi

As per the report, the accused used to check profiles of prospective targets on Facebook and Instagram. After establishing a connection, they would initiate video calls on the social media sites with AI-generated models, and the background voice was of a female.

"During interrogation by ACP Anil Sharma, they disclosed that they would initially send friend requests on Facebook and Instagram and obtain the victim's mobile number through Facebook Messenger. Subsequently, they would initiate a video call on WhatsApp, during which they would stream obscene clips, secretly recording the victim's screen and reactions using screen recording tools," DCP (crime) Aditya Gautam was quoted by TOI.

The recorded content was then used to blackmail the victim. The sextortion gang, allegedly led by Jahid (20), targeted victims through compromising videos, with Jayshree (24), a former SBI BPO employee, making calls and luring victims into compromising situations. Raheesh (21), Sohil (18) and Jaiveer (24) were also part of this module, cops said.

As per TOI, another modus operandi of the call centre was to trap people by offering fake bank loans. Initially, the telecallers, under directions from Dilshad Ali, contacted potential victims, offering them loan deals. Once they gained the victim's confidence, the telecaller would request identification and other personal documents via WhatsApp.

The victim was then asked to make a payment through a QR code scanner under the pretext of file processing fees. After the payment was received, the victim's follow-up messages and calls were ignored. The fraudsters would then switch off their mobile devices and change their contact numbers, effectively cutting off all communication. One Ujjawal Pandey (30) and one Gaurav Barua (24) masterminded the racket, said police.

Pandey, owner of a cyber café in Krishna Nagar, began selling fake account kits and SIM cards while Barua, a graduate from Ignou, facilitated pre-activated account kit transactions, said police. Their partnership enabled the smooth functioning of the scam, with Yug Sharma (18) allegedly assisting in supplying fake SIM cards and account kits. Ali employed several telecallers, including Saurav (27), Pravesh (28), Akshita (18), Raunak (24), Dimple (20) and Pinki (24), to pose as loan service representatives and dupe customers into divulging sensitive information. Another key player, Amit, owned the call centres and is absconding. He also supervised operations, cops said.