KOLKATA: Seven fake call centres were busted and 13 people were arrested, a senior police officer said on Monday. The busted call centres include three which were brought to notice by a US-based YouTuber. An officer said the “whistle-blower” post by the
YouTuber
will also be used as evidence during the trials.
“It seems they were collecting money under the pretext of mending computer systems. They were keeping the money deposited in an account and then transferring it as needed,” an officer said.
Cops said the busted call centres were operating in Kolkata, Salt Lake and
New Town
. A few other call centres are under scanner.
YouTuber Mark Rober
released a video on social media describing how he had shut down fake call centres using innovative methods. The video posted on his channel is going viral. The YouTuber claimed to have joined forces with two other content creators to release glitter bombs, cockroaches, smoke bombs and stink bombs in the call centres’ offices and gather video-based evidence.
Rober said he had busted at least four such fake firms. They claimed they had infiltrated these scam centres and worked with their employees before successfully taking control of their CCTVs and recording the scams. The YouTuber shared addresses of these centres and photographs of their purported owners.
According to police, three were in Bengal, which have been raided. “We busted call centres based on leads provided by people arrested earlier,” said an officer.
Police probes indicated these fake call centres target both Indians and foreigners.
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