The Cyber Crime Wing of West Bengal (South Zone) has dismantled an illegal call centre operating from Southwinds, Chowhati, under Sonarpur Police Station in Baruipur Police District. The fraudulent enterprise allegedly scammed unsuspecting U.S. citizens by posing as Microsoft technical support representatives and officials from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Following credible intelligence, Anjali Singh, DIG of the West Bengal Cyber Crime Wing, directed her team to investigate the fraudulent operation. Later that afternoon, officers from the Cyber Crime Wing, along with personnel from the Baruipur Cyber Crime Police Station, executed a raid on the identified premises with assistance from local security staff, reports The420.
The operation led to the arrest of three key operatives and the seizure of crucial evidence — Joy Halder (25), Tanmoy Mondal (25), and Subhajit Biswas (29).
According to investigators, the accused utilised two primary tactics to deceive their victims. The first one involved a tech security scam where victims were targeted through fraudulent pop-up alerts warning of security threats on their computers.
Masquerading as Microsoft support representatives, scammers gained remote access to victims’ systems, displayed fabricated error messages, and pressured them into purchasing fraudulent service packages. The cost of these fake services ranged from Rs 17,422 (one year) to Rs 34,844 (three years). Payments were processed through U.S. bank accounts before being converted into cryptocurrency and funnelled to the prime suspect, Joy Halder, via China.
The second scam involved exploiting geopolitical tensions for cyber scams. In this scam, fraudsters impersonated U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials, falsely claiming that Russian hackers hacked the victim’s computer. Then, the victims were coerced into paying substantial amounts. The scammers used forged DHS documents bearing official government logos to lend credibility to their scheme.
Additionally, police confiscated five laptops, mobile phones, routers, and headsets, along with forged Department of Homeland Security documents and scam call scripts. They also uncovered cryptocurrency wallet details indicating transactions worth Rs 10 crore over two years.
The extent of the scam is highlighted by the discovery of multiple bank accounts linked to these illicit transactions, an Audi A4 valued at Rs 52 lakh, and two high-value flats worth Rs 2.5 crore that were in the possession of the hackers.
Investigators reached out to eight suspicious cryptocurrency wallets and traced further transactions. Officials suspect that the arrested individuals were also laundering funds for cross-border criminal networks.
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