Eight people were arrested after Noida police busted a fake call centre operating out of a building in plot A 44 in Sector 2, officers said on Saturday, adding that the accused duped people from several states of ₹6 crore.
The accused posed as employees of reputed banks and financial institutions and duped people with promises of easy loans, renewals of lapsed insurance policies and investment schemes. They targeted those people whose details they got from online local search platforms for services.
“The accused would collect 10-15% of the loan amount upfront as fees, but victims never received the promised loans. They have duped victims of nearly ₹6 crore so far, with one victim alone being defrauded of ₹1 crore. The gang deliberately targeted people from other states, making it difficult for victims to file complaints or pursue legal action due to logistical challenges,” said Ram Badan Singh, deputy commissioner of police (Noida).
The accused also fabricated documents using templates easily available online. In cases where victims demanded refunds, the accused would send counterfeit documents purportedly from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) or other government agencies to dupe them, police said.
The accused, identified as Ganesh Thakur, Prabhash Jha, Manish Kumar Jha, Parvez Alam, Shubham Yadav, Gyanendra, Shabnam, and Aradhana, all between the age of 25 and 35 years, were from West Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
Seventeen mobile phones, a CPU, 21 ATM cards, five voter ID cards, six Aadhaar cards, three PAN cards, a driving licence, a GST certificate, a registration certificate, a rent agreement, and ₹2,660 in cash were recovered from the accused, police said.
The accused have been booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections 316(4) (criminal breach of trust), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), and sections of the IT Act. Police said they are investigating further to identify more victims and recover the stolen money.
“We urge people to verify the authenticity of such offers before making any payments. Our teams are working tirelessly to trace their network and recover the defrauded amount,” the DCP added.