Lucknow: In the third crackdown in 23 days on an international cyber fraud syndicate operating from the city, the Lucknow Police Commissionerate has busted a fake Apple Customer Support call centre running out of a luxury apartment in Vibhuti Khand and arrested four alleged masterminds accused of extorting money from US citizens through impersonation, fake websites and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology.
In the third crackdown in 23 days on an international cyber fraud syndicate operating from the city and targeting US citizens the Lucknow Police Commissionerate busted a fake Apple Customer Support call centre running out of a luxury apartment in Vibhuti Khand and arrested four alleged masterminds accused of extorting money from US citizens through impersonation, fake websites and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology.
In the third crackdown in 23 days on an international cyber fraud syndicate operating from the city and targeting US citizens the Lucknow Police Commissionerate busted a fake Apple Customer Support call centre running out of a luxury apartment in Vibhuti Khand and arrested four alleged masterminds accused of extorting money from US citizens through impersonation, fake websites and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology.
In the third crackdown in 23 days on an international cyber fraud syndicate operating from the city and targeting US citizens the Lucknow Police Commissionerate busted a fake Apple Customer Support call centre running out of a luxury apartment in Vibhuti Khand and arrested four alleged masterminds accused of extorting money from US citizens through impersonation, fake websites and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology.
In the third crackdown in 23 days on an international cyber fraud syndicate operating from the city and targeting US citizens the Lucknow Police Commissionerate busted a fake Apple Customer Support call centre running out of a luxury apartment in Vibhuti Khand and arrested four alleged masterminds accused of extorting money from US citizens through impersonation, fake websites and Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology.
The action, carried out under Operation CY-VAJRA, follows two similar recent busts.Deputy Commissioner of Police (East Zone) Deeksha Sharma said the alleged kingpin, Suraj Tripathi, learnt how international call centres functioned while working as a dialler in Ahmedabad in 2012-13. Investigators said he later set up his own fraudulent operation after networking through Telegram groups linked to overseas call centre operators.Police said Tripathi brought in relatives Vivek Pandey and Rahul Tripathi to manage premises, infrastructure, recruitment of diallers and day-to-day operations. The technical backbone was allegedly handled by Akash Arun Dutta, alias Ricky, from Mumbai, who managed fake websites and the VOIP calling systems.The breakthrough came on the intervening night of July 22 and 23, when Vibhuti Khand police, assisted by the East Zone Surveillance and Crime Team, raided a flat in Cyber Heights. Officers said the flat housed a fully functional international call centre aimed at US targets.During the raid, police seized 31 laptops, 14 mobile phones, two routers and other electronic devices, and recovered ₹18.50 lakh in cash, allegedly found in Tripathi’s Hyundai Verna.Investigators said the syndicate created a fake Apple Customer Support website and used Google advertisements so that a fraudulent helpline number, 000 800 100 9009, appeared prominently in search results. Calls were then routed to the Lucknow centre via VOIP.Police said 35 agents operated from 35 workstations, recruited from multiple states including Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Nagaland and Uttar Pradesh, along with one employee from Nepal. Police added that scripts and methods were frequently changed to evade detection, and that many agents were allegedly told they worked for a legitimate US support firm.
