The Belagavi City Police have busted a large international fraud call centre that was operating from a building on Kumar Hall, Bauxite Road. The raid was carried out by ACP Cyber Crime Raghu, PI Gaddekar, and officer Avati, after they received reliable information from the Internal Security Division.
Police Commissioner Borase told the media that the team has seized 37 laptops, 37 mobile phones, and several cloud-based apps that were used to store or delete evidence. A total of 33 people working in the call centre were arrested.
How the Scam Worked
The fraud team mainly targeted American citizens. They used 11 different scripts to cheat people.
Their method was simple:
They sent messages like:
“You have ordered this item. If not, please call this number.”
When victims called back:
The operators pretended to be officials
They showed fake websites
They transferred calls to “senior agents” acting as bank officers
They collected account details and asked victims to “verify balances”
Then, victims were told to buy Walmart gift cards and share the codes, pretending this was needed to prevent fraud or issue a refund.
The gang also falsely used the name of the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to gain trust and collect personal information.
Technology Used
The racket used:
VOIP apps
VPN services like Urban VPN
to hide their location and show fake phone numbers.
All calls were made using cloud systems so they could not be easily traced.
Who Were the Accused?
The 33 arrested people are from:
Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, and Nepal.
None of the accused are from Karnataka.
They were hired for monthly salaries of ₹12,000 to ₹40,000, with extra incentives.
The call centre started in March 2025, and the gang was planning to hire more staff soon.
Scale of the Fraud
According to the Commissioner:
Each operator made about 100 calls per day
With 33 staff members, they could reach over 3,000 people daily
This made the operation very large and dangerous.
Masterminds Identified
Police have identified two masterminds—
One from Gujarat
One from West Bengal
Investigations are ongoing to trace more people involved at higher levels.
Cases Filed
The police have registered cases under:
Information Technology Act
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)
Telecommunication-related offences
