Mumbai: The call centre in Ambernath being investigated for allegedly cheating customers in the U.S. had entered into a legitimate contract with a client based there, and was most probably misusing the data for the racket, police said on Saturday.
Early on Friday, the Thane Police Crime Branch raided the office of Mount Logic Solutions in Ambernath. Its employees were suspected of posing as bank representatives and asking U.S. citizens to pay ‘processing fees for loans’. The police have arrested eight accused so far, while 18 are still being questioned.
DCP Abhishek Trimukhe, Thane Police Crime Branch, said, “The call centre was also working for a US-based client in the debt recovery sector and running the racket simultaneously. We suspect they were using contact details of U.S. citizens provided to them by this client. We are also investigating if they bought data from internet-based racketeers.”
Police said the U.S.-based customers were perfect targets as they would welcome the opportunity to avail of a loan from a bank against a comparatively smaller processing fee. “The contract also provided a suitable cover to the accused, as they had legitimate reason to recruit youngsters and train them to speak in an American accent. We are investigating if all employees were involved in racket,” an officer said.
Another officer said a manager working with the firm, who is absconding, is suspected to be the racket’s mastermind, and multiple teams are currently working on tracing and apprehending him.
Police have seized diaries from the office with details of the racket’s daily earnings, and are conducting searches at residences of arrested accused, who bank accounts are also being put under the scanner.
