Kerala police bust cyber fraud call centre targeting US citizens, 10 arrested

Kerala police have busted an alleged illegal call centre targeting US nationals in cyber fraud schemes and arrested 10 people from a house in the Sreekaryam area of the state capital, officials said on Tuesday.

According to the police, the District Anti-Narcotics Special Action Force of the Thiruvananthapuram City Police searched the premises on suspicion that a narcotics racket was being operated there, but instead stumbled upon an alleged illegal call centre being used for cyber fraud.

The accused were arrested after police examined the computers and other equipment allegedly used in the operation.

Police said the group, comprising people from North India, allegedly targeted victims in the United States through cyber fraud schemes, including loan scams.

State Police Chief Ravada Chandrasekhar IPS said Akash, suspected to be the kingpin of the racket, was absconding and that efforts were under way to trace and arrest him.

"The investigation is continuing, and we are gathering more details about the case. We initially suspected a narcotics racket, but when we searched the premises, we found several computers and later discovered that it was being used as a cybercrime call centre," the DGP told reporters.

He said more details of the case were expected to emerge in the next day or two.

The DGP said Kerala has cybercrime hotspots, particularly in Malappuram and Ernakulam districts, where police have detected several ATM withdrawals linked to mule accounts allegedly used by cyber fraudsters.

He said the State Police Cyber Crime Wing had so far blocked Rs 78 crore linked to cyber fraud cases and recovered about five per cent of the amount for the victims.

"The money has been frozen, and we are now in the process of recovering it and returning it to the victims. So far, we have managed to recover five per cent," he said.

The DGP was speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting of the State Police Cyber Crime Wing with senior officials of leading banks and representatives of major payment gateways at the police headquarters.

He said the meeting was aimed at strengthening coordination between the Cyber Crime Wing and banks to prevent cybercrime and expedite the recovery of blocked funds for victims.

"The bank authorities have extended their full cooperation, and a committee has also been constituted for this purpose," he said.

He said banks had strengthened their procedures to curb the creation of mule accounts, with many also introducing enhanced monitoring systems to detect and prevent cyber fraud.

"The banks have significantly reduced the number of mule accounts compared with last year. We are confident that we can tackle the challenge effectively through coordinated efforts," the DGP said.

He said Cyber Crime Wing officials had been instructed to handle every cybercrime complaint sensitively and provide maximum support to victims.

"Our approach to every victim will be humane," he said.

Responding to a question on the alleged custodial torture and death case in Kollam, the DGP said he had sought a report on the incident and that action would be taken based on its findings.

He said reports regarding the alleged DRDO data leak were not recent, describing it as an old case that had resurfaced in sections of the media.