Police bust fake call centre, detain 116 people for duping US citizens
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (PTI): Police in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Tuesday busted a fake call centre and detained 116 people, including a juvenile, allegedly involved in stealing the data of US citizens and duping them, an official said.
The police took the action based on intelligence inputs, he said.
"After receiving information about an illegal call centre being run in the city, the police raided the facility - Connect Enterprises - around 1.30 pm. It was a full-fledged call centre operated by Ahmedabad-based Valay Vyas, who is among the detained persons," the official said.
"People employed there used to call American citizens and inform them about their pending tax dues. The callers would then threaten the US citizens about the penalty, while their colleagues would act as negotiators and ask the victims to buy digital gift cards of the amount of their dues," inspector Geeta Bagawade told reporters.
"Based on the number printed on the gift cards, the callers would siphon off the amount in USD, which would then be converted into crypto currency," she said.
Those employed at the call centre were paid Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 salary per month and would be given an incentive of Rs three per USD, the official said.
When the cyber team examined the laptops at the call centre, they were found storing the personal data of US citizens, tax receipts, court orders, fake documents mentioning the names of US officials, the script given to interact with the victims and the list of amount siphoned off, the official added.
The city police detained 116 persons, including a juvenile, who hail from various states in India, according to the official.
"The people here allegedly cheated American as well as other foreigners. It was also found that they worked for a person named John who is a partner in the business," the official said.
The process to register a case in this connection was underway in MIDC CIDCO police station here, the official said.
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2nd WT20I: Shafali, spin trio do star turns in India''s seven-wicket win
Visakhapatnam (PTI): Shafali Verma hit a blistering unbeaten 69 as India made short work of a paltry target to outclass Sri Lanka by seven wickets in the second Women’s T20 International here on Tuesday.
India now lead the five-match series 2-0 after another one-sided victory, having restricted Sri Lanka to a modest 128 for 9 through a collective display of disciplined bowling from the spin trio of seasoned Sneh Rana, ably complemented by young spinners Vaishnavi Sharma and Shree Charani.
During the chase, vice-captain Smriti Mandhana (14) fell cheaply but Shafali, enjoying new found confidence after a stellar show in the World Cup final, sent the bowlers on a leather-hunt during her 34-ball knock, winning it for her team in just 11.5 overs.
The hosts have now completed back-to-back successful chases within 15 overs which speaks volumes about the unit's sky-high confidence.
Shafali's innings had 11 punchy boundaries apart from a maximum.
The floodgates opened when left-arm spinner Inoka Ranaweera bowled a few flighted deliveries and Shafali would step out everytime to hit her over extra cover. Her footwork against slow bowlers was immaculate whether stepping out to loft the ball or rocking back to punch or pull.
Seeing her confidence, the newly appointed Delhi Capitals skipper Jemimah Rodrigues (26 off 15 balls) also attacked as the duo added 58 runs in just 4.3 overs.
By the time Rodrigues was out trying to hit one six too many, the match as a contest was over. Shafali completed her half-century off just 27 balls and completed the formalities in a jiffy.
Earlier, off-spinner Rana, who got a look-in after Deepti Sharma was ruled out due to fever, showed her utility keeping the Lankan batters under tight leash with figures of 1 for 11 in 4 overs, including a maiden which certainly is a rarity in T20 cricket.
Charani, who made an impression during India's ODI World Cup triumph, took 2 for 23 in her quota of overs, while Vaishnavi after an impressive debut in the opening encounter, finished with 2 for 32, not letting the Islanders get easy runs in her second spell.
The last six wickets fell for just 24 runs, but what stood out during India’s bowling effort was their superb ground fielding. After a patchy show in the previous game, the improved sharpness in the field resulted in three run-outs.
Sri Lankan skipper Chamari Athapaththu (31 off 24 balls) looked in good nick as she deposited length deliveries from seamers Kranti Gaud and Arundhati Reddy over the ropes but it was Rana, who kept her quiet by repeatedly pitching on good length.
Unable to manoeuvre the strike and with the big hits suddenly drying up, Athapaththu chanced her arm at another delivery in which Rana had shortened the length slightly.
Not having transferred the weight into the lofted shot, Athapaththu's hoick was pouched cleanly by Amanjot Kaur at long-off.
This was after Athapaththu's opening partner Vishmi Gunaratne (1) had offered a simple return catch to Gaud.
Hasini Perera (22 off 28 balls) and Harshitha Samarawickrama (33 off 32 balls) did stitch a stand of 44 but they could never set the tempo against the Indian spin troika.
Once Hasini offered a tame return catch off a Charani full-toss, Sri Lankans never recovered and lost wickets in a heap towards the end.
