Fake calls from Interpol: scammers exposed in India

Fake calls from Interpol: scammers exposed in India

At first glance, it looks like a normal office full of desks. Indian employees are huddled together in front of their computers, making phone calls over headsets. However, the thriving business model of this New Delhi office was a scam. With the help of ready-made scripts, the fraudsters dished up lies to their victims, who were thousands of kilometers away in Austria, and thus stole millions of dollars. At the end of September, however, the working day in the call center ended abruptly: Indian investigators stormed the building, arrested numerous employees and confiscated evidence and 15,000 euros.

Beware of identity theft

This is thanks to international cooperation, in which the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) was also involved, as its head Andreas Holzer presented yesterday in Vienna. The fraudulent calls in Austria began in December 2021. The balance sheet until the call center was broken up in September: 1,100 reports and 387 victims in Austria.

The procedure was always the same: people were called with computer-generated numbers and learned from a taped voice that their name had appeared in Interpol investigations. To get more information, the “one” should be pressed – then the forwarding to the call center took place.

“Your identity has been stolen. All accounts in your name will be blocked. Europol is offering to temporarily transfer your money to a secure account,” the victims were told. In order to exert pressure, arrests were also threatened.

Scammers have been hacked themselves

The call center operated worldwide, and an Austrian contributed to the break-up, as Holzer reported. The man went to the police after one such phone call and was contacted by a “scambaiter” – a person who hacks scammers. The hacker’s findings allowed investigators to track down the scammers in New Delhi.

“Active hacking and spying is not allowed for the police. An IT specialist who does it privately and then notifies the police brings investigation results that the police cannot legally provide,” says Gerald Sakoparnig, head of the fraud department at the Upper Austrian State Criminal Police Office. He rates the action as an “outstanding success”: “It’s good when the population sees that the police not only warn, but that operational work is also being done,” he says.

According to BKA head Holzer, since the call center was disbanded, no more reports of false “Interpol agents” have been filed. The confiscated money – a fraction of the damage – was returned to the victims. “Future damage in the millions was prevented,” says Holzer.

Source: Nachrichten

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