CALL CENTRE THAT CONNED FOREIGN LOAN SEEKERS BUSTED

Six persons were arrested for running an international loan racket and making an illegal gain of about `1crore. Police said the gang operated from four places in Hyderabad.

Hyderabad police commissioner Anurag Sharma said, “The masterminds Atiq Ababs, Syed Abdul Basith and Badveli Niranjan Reddy were not even graduates and managed to organise the scam through Internet and their sources in India and abroad.” This fraud was going on for the last oneand-a-half years, he added.

“They maintained a huge database of loan-seekers in the UK and USA and called them offering a loan in halfan-hour if they paid the first instalment right away. After the loan seeker agrees and transfers the money via Ukash/PaySafe/MoneyGra m/Western Union, they again call them for more money saying their credit rating was low and have to pay more money as taxes and attorney fee. They operated all this through a call centre, with people who could speak in English fluently,” Mr Sharma added.

Police said Basith, Atiq and one Simran Veer Singh of New Delhi started an office in Deccan Towers at Basheerbagh in October 2011. They used to obtain leads from their sources in UK, Pune and Delhi. These leads were transferred online to youth working in call centre to convince the loan seeker and trap them. They used to collect about £120 to £210 pounds for a loan of £1,000 to £10,000. They got £30,000-40,000 a month from their UK operations and $ 1,50,000 per month from their USA operations, police said.