Noida turning into next Jamtara; fake call centres spur fraud

Noida: Noida, considered to be an IT hub in Uttar Pradesh, is increasingly becoming a host for fraudulent call centres also. Here, a fraudulent call centre is discovered almost every day. In their lust for money, cyber thugs endanger the safety of the nation. The owners of the fake call centres, who were apprehended here, train youths, hire them for very little pay, and make enormous profits by getting them to commit fraud. The authorities frequently discover youths working for the centres and in most cases, the mastermind absconds.

Such cyber frauds put India's security at risk as foreigners too get cheated by these centres. In the last five years, more than 250 fake call centres or telephone exchanges, big and small, have been exposed in Noida and Greater Noida West. Callers use jobs, insurance and cyber help as topics to cheat people. In some centres, foreigners run the whole company who remain to be apprehended. Fraudulent call centres usually target the unemployed people and lure them easily by promising jobs. Along with this, people are cheated in the name of cheap loans, renewing insurance policies, etc.

Other methods witnessed in the past cases include, fraud by claiming to fix a pop-up virus in devices, gifts in lucky draws, fake telephone exchanges to talk to foreigners, child pornography and lucky draws in 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' among others. Cyber Expert Amit Dubey, in a conversation with IANS said that interstate border areas are favourable and most suitable places for the cyber thugs to commit such crimes, such as Mewat, Jamtara, Nuh, Alwar, Mathura and Noida.

"Cyber criminals work at a different place, live in a different place and commit crimes in a different place. If they fear being caught, they enter another state," said Dubey. He added that their identities are always found to be fake and they can be apprehended only on the basis of location, which is why it gets convenient for them to constantly change their locations from the border areas. Dubey stated that a call centre can be easily set up on a small notice with all facilities in Noida. Foreigners are among the most cheated in these centres as that reduces the risk of being caught due to the distance between them and the victim.

They cheat them by pretending to verify their passports and dupe the foreigners of at least Rs 5,000-10,000 dollars. l Dubey stated that adopting the Zero-Trust model is the best way of defence. He advised that one should not believe the other person immediately and should think carefully before talking freely or sharing sensitive details. Dubey added that the biggest red flag that one should identify is when the caller asks for money, as no government employee or officer demands money over the phone.