New Delhi. Delhi Police has busted two fake job-placement call centers that were cheating unemployed youth in the name of providing jobs. A total of 11 people have been arrested in the joint action of Central District Special Staff, Cyber Police Station and Ranjit Nagar Police Station. Police recovered 13 computer systems, five mobile phones, calling software, data of job seekers and several digital and financial evidences from both the locations.
According to the police, both the call centers were being operated from Lal Ratan Building near Shadipur Metro station in Ranjit Nagar area. Here the accused, posing as representatives of employment agencies, used to contact the unemployed and offer them attractive jobs. After this, different amounts were collected in the name of registration and processing fees.
Police raided after technical investigation
On September 3, police had received information about a suspicious job-placement call center being run in Ranjit Nagar area. Police formed teams to verify the information and take necessary action. The team of Ranjit Nagar police station and special staff started investigating the suspicious activities through technical analysis and field verification.
During technical investigation, police discovered that a large number of job-related calls were being made from a single location. After this, on the basis of technical information and on-site verification, the suspected premises were raided.
In the first call centre, the police found four women and two men. After interrogation he was taken into custody. During the search of the office, computer systems, calling applications and other digital materials being used to contact job seekers were recovered.
First used to win trust by promising job
Investigation revealed that the accused used to obtain data of job seekers from online job-search and recruitment platforms. After this, call center employees, posing as recruiters, used to contact potential candidates over phone.
During the calls, the unemployed were lured with attractive jobs and better packages. After luring the candidates into their trap, they were asked to deposit registration and processing fees in the name of different packages.
According to the police, the accused demanded different amounts of money ranging from Rs 3,500, Rs 1,400 and Rs 1,200. After the money was deposited, the call center employees kept in touch with the candidates for a few days and assured them that the job process would proceed. After this, contact with him was suddenly stopped and he was not given a job.
Police action on other call centers also
Meanwhile, a joint team of Special Staff and Central District Cyber Police Station got information about another suspicious job-placement call center operating from the same building. Police raided there also.
In another office, five male employees were found working in calling cubicles. When the police asked them for the corporate authorization letter, placement agreement and records of the candidates who actually got the job regarding the validity of the company, they could not produce any valid documents.
During examination of computers kept in the office, calling software and data of job seekers were found. After this, the five employees were taken into custody and brought to the police station for questioning.
Arrest of 11 accused
Police have arrested a total of 11 people from both the fake call centres. First Arpit, Sakina, Karishma, Meenakshi, Chanchal and Ashok were caught from the call centre. Whereas, Asim, Sandeep, Gaurav Malik, Gyan Singh and Rohit were arrested from another call centre.
The police are now trying to reach the main accused and mastermind working behind this network.
Where was the data obtained from, money transactions are also under investigation
Investigating agencies are trying to find out how the data of job seekers reached the accused. Police is conducting technical investigation of the seized computers and mobile phones. Besides, the transactions of the amount recovered from the candidates and the bank accounts linked to it are also being investigated.
Police are also trying to find out how many more people besides the arrested accused are involved in this alleged fake job-placement network. The investigation into the operation of both the call centres, the source of the data and the role of other people involved in the fraud is ongoing.
According to the police, further arrests may be made in the case on the basis of information received from electronic devices. Youth looking for jobs have also been appealed to verify complete information about the company and the job before depositing money on any such offer.