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Indian Call Center Scams $14 Million From Americans In Elaborate Scheme
Truly Times ^ | 12-26-2020 | Tyler Durden

Posted on 12/26/2020 6:16:21 AM PST by blam

Sometimes we have to question the intelligence of Americans. It’s no secret that unhealthy lifestyles and eating mounds of junk food can impair brain function. With that being said, intelligence is lacking for some Americans as thousands were recently swindled out of millions of dollars by a scammy Indian call center.

According to the NYTimes, an Indian call center in Peera Garhi, west of Delhi, tricked victims into believing their bank accounts were frozen as part of an elaborate drug investigation. As many as 4,500 victims were told, they had to transfer money to the scammers or risk serious jail time.

On Dec. 17, as many as 50 people from the call center were arrested. Authorities alleged the employees learned American accents and pretended to be officials of various American law enforcement agencies.

Delhi Police Cybercrime Unit shows police arresting a group suspected of conducting an international scam at a call center in Delhi. Source: NYT

Investigators said the victims were given an ultimatum: Face jail time or take an “alternative dispute resolution” to avoid criminal charges.

Over two years, the call center bilked more than $14 million from gullible Americans who “were asked to buy Bitcoins or Google gift cards worth all the money in their accounts,” said Anyesh Roy, a police officer in New Delhi. The monies were then transferred to what the victims thought was a “safe government wallet” but were actually accounts tied to the call center.

The South China Morning Post said the “call center even had a human resources policy offering graded salary scales, bonuses for Christmas and for those who could get people to capitulate fast, as well as paid holidays.”

The stupidity of some Americans makes you wonder if IQ rates in the country are dropping?


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: callcenter; india; scam
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To: blam

I enjoy telling the Hadjis where they can go when I get the occasional scam phone call.


21 posted on 12/26/2020 6:45:17 AM PST by MGunny ( )
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To: sodpoodle

Good idea !


22 posted on 12/26/2020 6:46:35 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Baseball players, gangsters and musicians are remembered. But journalists are forgotten.)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

As many as 4,500 victims were told, they had to transfer money to the scammers or risk serious jail time.


And I suspect all 4,500 were in the drug business, perceiving this as a real risk.....................


23 posted on 12/26/2020 6:49:50 AM PST by PeterPrinciple (Thinking Caps are no longer being issued but there must be a warehouse full of them somewhere.)
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To: blam

I recently refinanced my home through a national mortgage company. I initiated the process and the company was well known and has been around for decades.

Even with that I was questioning how much information I gave them over the phone.

I’m naturally a bit suspicious about things.

All went well. They were very professional and above board and I got a great rate.


24 posted on 12/26/2020 6:53:55 AM PST by cyclotic (The most dangerous people are the ones that feel the most helpless)
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To: blam

Robokiller. No problems ever.


25 posted on 12/26/2020 6:54:16 AM PST by boomop1 (term limits NOW)
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To: blam

“It is immoral to allow a fool to keep his money.”


26 posted on 12/26/2020 6:55:37 AM PST by cuban leaf (We killed our economy and damaged our culture. In 2021 we will pine for the salad days of 2020.)
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To: blam

“It’s no secret that unhealthy lifestyles and eating mounds of junk food can impair brain function.”

Yep...I’m sure that’s the reason these folks were scammed.


27 posted on 12/26/2020 6:55:48 AM PST by moovova
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To: Wally_Kalbacken

My grandson does an excellent indian accent where he says, “Can I have your security information, please.”


28 posted on 12/26/2020 6:56:44 AM PST by cuban leaf (We killed our economy and damaged our culture. In 2021 we will pine for the salad days of 2020.)
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To: blam

there’s a show on tv that had Jamaicans on camera saying how they can scam Americans because we are stupid.
I can’t disagree! who the hell sends $$ to complete strangers?!


29 posted on 12/26/2020 6:57:09 AM PST by ronniesgal ( no fool like an old fool!)
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To: sodpoodle

“Legitimate callers will leave a message.”

Hah...I even leave my voice mail full!

Go away world!


30 posted on 12/26/2020 6:57:35 AM PST by moovova
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To: keving
Call the British to change the savages.

You mean like these British?

31 posted on 12/26/2020 7:01:11 AM PST by nwrep
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To: blam
The stupidity of some Americans makes you wonder if IQ rates in the country are dropping?

My mother is 85. She has been scammed three times this year: The first was a "very nice iPhone security officer" who needed her bank account information because he had reason to believe that her monthly service payments were being diverted to organized crime. She lost $5,000, but her bank reimbursed her.

The second was a "very nice Amazon security officer" who needed to verify her credit card because of suspicious activity. Amazon shut down the account when it noticed suspicious activity shortly after the phone call.

The third was Fauci and Cuomo, who have convinced the elderly that they are all going to die from Covid if they have any face-to-face human interactions, and as a result, they are lonely, bored, and more vulnerable than ever to these types of scams.

32 posted on 12/26/2020 7:02:40 AM PST by Labyrinthos
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To: zaxtres
And that blame is mostly on our skooling system.

Then why do the elderly fall for it? After all, they went to skool ages ago when the skooling system was supposedly soooo much better.

33 posted on 12/26/2020 7:02:46 AM PST by nwrep
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To: blam

The stupidity of some Americans makes you wonder if IQ rates in the country are dropping?


Sometimes its desperation for human contact, or an addiction to adrenaline


34 posted on 12/26/2020 7:06:59 AM PST by PIF (They came for me and mine ... now its your turn)
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To: Wally_Kalbacken
Hello, my name is Apu, how can I help you

That's funny...when I get these calls, he calls himself "Bob" or "Trent" or "Pete" or some such.
35 posted on 12/26/2020 7:07:03 AM PST by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics)
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To: Wally_Kalbacken
DOMINION TIER 1 SUPPORT TECH: Good morning, Dominion Technical support my name is Dopinder, ...how may I help you?

LEFTIST ELECTION WORKER: I, uhh, uh, have to alter some results, and was told that it was easy, but...I'm confused and if I don't get this done, my precinct election supervisor is going to have my ass.

DOMINION TIER 1 SUPPORT TECH: No problem! Are you in front of the machine you wish to tamper with?

LEFTIST ELECTION WORKER: Yes.

DOMINION TIER 1 SUPPORT TECH: Good! Touch the upper left and lower right of the display screen at the same time, and it will bring up the Admin menu.

LEFTIST ELECTION WORKER: Uhh...okay...(fumbling sounds) I think I have it, and...(panicked) Oh, God! It's asking for a username and password! F*ck, I don't have either of those! F*ck! F*ck! F*CK! What...

DOMINION TIER 1 SUPPORT TECH: Sir, please don't worry. I can provide you with the credentials you need to login, that isn't a problem.

LEFTIST ELECTION WORKER: (uncertainly) What? Won't they have changed it?

DOMINION TIER 1 SUPPORT TECH: (cheerfully) Of course not. We discourage that. As a matter of fact, only Dominion can change it, and we talk our customers out of it when they request us to do it. So, the default username is "password", all lower case, and the password is "password", again, all lower case.

LEFTIST ELECTION WORKER: (relieved) Ah! Ah! Thank God, that worked, I am in. What do I do now?

DOMINION TIER 1 SUPPORT TECH: Do you see the menu item that says "Tamper"? Click on it. When it opens, click on the "Switch Votes" option, and then on the left, from the pull down menu titled "REMOVE VOTES" select the candidate you wish to remove the votes from to transfer to the other candidate, and then from the "ADD VOTES" menu to the right, select the candidate you wish to transfer the votes to.

LEFTIST ELECTION WORKER: (choking with relief) Is that it? Is that all?

DOMINION TIER 1 SUPPORT TECH: Almost there. Make sure you don't mix up those candidates! We wouldn't want that, would we? Okay, now go to the "METHOD" pull down and select either "VOLUME" or "PERCENTAGE". Just a tip, we usually discourage the use of the "VOLUME" setting, since you can get into trouble with that one...too many things to go wrong. I suggest using "PERCENTAGE" and setting it to a relatively low number, 5-10% won't attract much notice. However, if you are desperate (chuckling) and you REALLY sound like you are, I have seen people go as high as 20-30%, but that can be risky. I suggest 20%. Then, before you click "SAVE", be sure to uncheck the "Enable Logging" option. Wouldn't want to leave a trail for someone to follow, but...that is your choice.

LEFTIST ELECTION WORKER: (giggling) Oh, thank you! Thank you! Now that I know how, I can get all the voting machines configure correctly before the supervisor shows up, and we will be ready to go! Oh, thank you!

DOMINION TIER 1 SUPPORT TECH: My pleasure! That is what we are here for, after all. One more thing-when the polls close, before you do ANYTHING, go to each machine, re-access the Admin screen and Tamper dialog box, and click the "RESET" button. That turns logging back on, and sets all the other options to the default values, and you will be golden. Nobody will suspect a thing. If someone sees the logging off and the options selected, that could be problematic for you. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

36 posted on 12/26/2020 7:07:29 AM PST by rlmorel ("I’d rather enjoy a risky freedom than a safe servitude." Robby Dinero, USMC Veteran, Gym Owner)
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To: MGunny

I find blowing a whistle into the phone most fun. They can’t disconnect fast enough and sometimes you can hear them crying or screaming because of blown ear drums.


37 posted on 12/26/2020 7:07:51 AM PST by Hulka ( )
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To: Dr. Sivana
"...That's funny...when I get these calls, he calls himself "Bob" or "Trent" or "Pete" or some such..."

Or, Tyler.

38 posted on 12/26/2020 7:09:52 AM PST by rlmorel ("I’d rather enjoy a risky freedom than a safe servitude." Robby Dinero, USMC Veteran, Gym Owner)
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To: Eric in the Ozarks

Maybe it’s Kamalamadingdong offering a lucrative DC position?


39 posted on 12/26/2020 7:11:05 AM PST by nascarnation
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To: keving
Call the British to change the savages.

Right, because scammers who victimize the stupid don't exist here.
40 posted on 12/26/2020 7:12:02 AM PST by AnotherUnixGeek
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