Fake call centre duping buyers with fake smartphones busted

The Amritsar Commissionerate police have busted a fake call centre involved in cheating citizens across the country through an online scam.

The operation was conducted on September 15. Over 80 women employees were deployed at the centre to target unsuspecting customers with “lucrative” deals of iPhones and Samsung S24 mobile phones on online marketing platform OLX. The accused showcased images of premium devices, convincing the buyers that they were getting these at very attractive prices, said Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar.

“Each handset priced over Rs 1 lakh by the respective manufacturing firm was being offered for Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000. The gang managed to sell 30-40 fake phones daily, generating nearly Rs 6 lakh in illicit turnover every day. Buyers, expecting genuine premium smartphones, received their high-quality replicas instead,” Bhullar said.

During the raid, the police seized 47 mobile phones, including 29 with active SIM cards, eight additional SIMs, and six laptops, allegedly used for the fraudulent operations.

The police have arrested key accused Raghav Bhardwaj of Pawan Nagar, Batala road, Amritsar. His two associates, Ankit Gangotra of Vijay Nagar and Gautam Thakur of Batala road, are absconding.An FIR has been registered at the cybercrime police station.