iOS support scam busted in Calangute, 19 arrested
Calangute: In a major crackdown on cyber fraud, the Calangute Police raided an illegal call centre operating from a hotel in Baga and arrested 19 persons, all residents of Maharashtra, for allegedly cheating citizens of the United States through online scams.
The raid was carried out between 11.56 pm on June 29 and 3.28 am on June 30 on the fourth floor of Hotel Baga Residency, Khobrawaddo, Calangute.
According to police, the accused were allegedly operating an illegal call centre where they posed as customer service representatives of iOS. By impersonating technical support agents, they allegedly contacted US citizens and convinced them to make payments through gift cards, Apple gift cards and cryptocurrency on the pretext of resolving technical issues. Victims were allegedly cheated of large sums of money.
Mohammad Saved Shaikh (49), Amin Irfan Mansoori (30), Faisal Badshah Mansoori (30), Haider Shahid Askari, (36), Shaukat Mohammad Shaikh (37), Naim Maiid Shaikh (40), Vipin Ramkesar Alwar (31), Shivprasad Peethambaran Nair (25), Yash Bablu Naidu, (24), Rahul Bhim Singh (25), Yash Manohar Shringare (28), Sachin Vijay Warang (24), Mujif Shaikh (37) Atik Aslam Khan (32), Sachin Munnalal Varma (24) all residents of Mumbai, Maharashtra, Amir Arif Hussain (23), Adil Arif Hussain (25) both residents of Shujanpur, Madhya Pradesh, Sanket Dilip Mayavanshi (26), resident of Palghar, Maharashtra and Rehmat Hussain Khan (51) of Ratnagiri, Maharashtra were arrested under Section 319(2) and 318(4) read with 3(5) Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and 66D of IT Act.
During the operation, police seized 12 laptops, five mobile phones and other computer equipment collectively valued at around Rs 10 lakh. The electronic devices are believed to have been used to carry out the fraudulent activities.
Police Inspector Laxi Amonkar is conducting further investigation to ascertain the full extent of the racket, identify additional suspects, if any, and determine the total financial loss caused to the victims.
15 held in Anjuna for medicare scam targeting American citizens
Mapusa: Anjuna Police busted a fake international call centre allegedly operating from a resort at Grand Chivar, Anjuna, and arrested 15 persons from Maharashtra and Delhi for allegedly targeting citizens of the United States through Medicare and insurance-related fraud.
Acting on specific information, an Anjuna Police team led by PI Krishna Sinari conducted a raid at the resort between 11.20 pm on Monday and 2.30 am on June 30. During the operation, police found the accused allegedly operating the fake call centre and primarily targeting citizens of the United States by impersonating representatives of Medicare and insurance providers.
The accused allegedly fraudulently obtained the personal and insurance details of victims and processed claims related to Durable Medical Equipment (DME) through false representations with the intention of unlawfully obtaining insurance reimbursements, police said.
Police seized 15 laptops, 13 mobile phones, routers and other gadgets collectively worth around Rs 25 lakh.
The arrested accused were identified as Jitu Shivdas (29), Tauhid Khan (32), Pritesh Upadhayay (24), Sohail Khan (52), Vishram Rokade (25), Imtiyaz Pathan (32), Shahid Sayyed (36), Aniket Sharma (27), Urmish Trivedi (22), Aaron Karkada (26), Hrushikesh Sandve (25), Imran Ali Siddiqui (41), Shreekant Mali (26), Lokesh Suvarna (28), all natives of Maharashtra, and Sajid Khan (31), a native of Delhi.
All the accused were produced before the Mapusa court, which remanded them in six days’ police custody. Anjuna Police registered an offence under Sections 319, 318(4) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66-C and 66-D of the Information Technology Act.
Further investigation is in progress.
