Panchkula police and Cyber Haryana bust fake call centres in IT Park, 85 held

In a decisive strike against cybercriminals that lasted five hours, joint teams of the Panchkula police and Cyber Haryana raided three fake call centres operating in Panchkula’s IT Park. A total of 85 individuals, including both owners and employees of these centres, were taken into custody for questioning. The raid led to the confiscation of 148 laptops, 78 mobile phones, 21 CPUs, and Rs 12.33 lakh in cash from the three raided premises.

Owing to the teams’ swift and coordinated action, simultaneous raids on all three call centres were carried out successfully, resulting in 85 arrests on the spot. The call centres were found to be engaged in systematic fraud targeting citizens abroad, particularly in the United States and Europe. Preliminary investigations indicate that around 10 of these individuals are prime accused against whom FIRs are being registered. The police have now launched a deeper investigation to trace the wider network linked to them.

Modus operandi

Investigations revealed that employees fluent in English posed as representatives of various service providers and helpdesk staff such as bank services, Netflix, and other OTT services. The police revealed that they conned foreigners by saying their banking or OTT services had been discontinued and that to restart them, a link was sent which would then be used to retrieve their bank details or transfer money to their accounts. Victims were also lured with promises of free schemes and facilities, including fictitious programs such as the so-called “Obama Welfare Initiative”, falsely linked to India’s Below Poverty Line (BPL) scheme to gain trust.

Once trust was established, victims were persuaded to share personal and banking details, which were later sold to organised crime groups. In some cases, victims were forced to purchase online coupons which were converted into Bitcoin, with money being routed through hawala networks.

Seizures

During the raids, the police seized a large cache of digital devices and cash. From Certys IT Services, 85 laptops, 62 mobile phones, and Rs 8.40 lakh in cash were seized. From iSpace Technologies Pvt Ltd, 62 laptops, 60 mobile phones, and Rs 73,176 in cash were recovered. From the third ‘unnamed’ call centre, the police seized 18 mobile phones, 21 CPUs, one laptop, and Rs 3.20 lakh in cash.

Three separate FIRs have been registered by the Panchkula police, and interrogation of the accused is underway. Authorities believe this action has exposed a major cybercrime syndicate with links likely extending beyond India.

Team effort

The joint operation was executed through three teams led by DCP Crime and Traffic, Manpreet Singh Sudan. These included top officials from the Cyber Police Station, Chandimandir Police Station, Crime Branch Sector 26, Cyber Haryana, and Detective Staff.

Public Advisory

The Haryana Police has appealed to citizens to remain vigilant and aware of cybersecurity. People are advised not to share personal or banking details with unknown callers, emails, or messages. Any suspicious transactions or suspected cyber fraud should be reported immediately to Cyber Helpline Number 1930 or on National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal ((link unavailable)). The police stressed that public alertness and timely reporting are the most effective weapons to dismantle cybercrime networks.

Haryana DGP Shatrujeet Kapur congratulated the teams on this successful mission and said the action demonstrates the Haryana Police’s resolve to combat cybercrime. He emphasised that such operations strengthen public confidence and ensure a sense of security among citizens. The DGP specifically commended Police Commissioner, Panchkula-cum-IGP Cyber Haryana, Sivas Kuppiraj, along with the Panchkula police and Cyber Haryana teams, stating that the action was an excellent example of coordinated policing.