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U.S. Charges 61 In Indian Call Center Scam
27 October 2016
In a first-of-its kind nationwide takedown, the U.S. Justice Department announced charges Thursday against 61 defendants in the United States and abroad in connection with call center operations based in India, The Associated Press reported.
As agents fanned out across the country to make arrests, officials in Washington said they wanted to alert the public that the calls are all part of a criminal fraud. Callers posing as tax and immigration agents had been threatening victims with arrest, deportation or other punishment if they didn’t send money to clear up what they said were deportation warrants or to cover unpaid income taxes.
The government said it was a scam that has tricked at least 15,000 people into shelling out more than $300 million. The callers primarily targeted immigrants and the elderly, preying their fears that they could be imprisoned or deported, officials said.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell, head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, announced the arrests.
"The U.S. government does not operate in this manner. We never call to demand that money be loaded immediately onto prepaid cards. U.S. government agencies do not call to demand immediate payments to avoid deportation or to avoid arrest." – Leslie Caldwell
The indictment, which was issued by a federal grand jury last week in Houston, charges the defendants – which include five call centers – with crimes including wire fraud, money laundering and false impersonation of an officer of the United States. Authorities served nine warrants in eight states and arrested 20 people in the international fraud and money-laundering investigation, Caldwell said.
Callers posing as officials with the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would tell unsuspecting victims on the other end that they had failed to pay taxes they owed or that they were at risk of deportation, and that a fast payment was needed to get them out of trouble.
Among the victims: an elderly San Diego woman who forked over $12,300 after she was threatened with arrest if she didn't pay a penalty for fictitious tax violations. And when a Colorado man did not respond to repeated demands that he pay supposed back taxes, scammers posing as him called 911 and said that he was armed and eager to kill police officers, prompting law enforcement officers to surround him at home, officials said.
WN.com, Jim Berrie
https://article.wn.com/view/2016/10/27/VIDEO_US_Charges_61_In_Indian_Call_Center_Scam/
27 October 2016
In a first-of-its kind nationwide takedown, the U.S. Justice Department announced charges Thursday against 61 defendants in the United States and abroad in connection with call center operations based in India, The Associated Press reported.
As agents fanned out across the country to make arrests, officials in Washington said they wanted to alert the public that the calls are all part of a criminal fraud. Callers posing as tax and immigration agents had been threatening victims with arrest, deportation or other punishment if they didn’t send money to clear up what they said were deportation warrants or to cover unpaid income taxes.
The government said it was a scam that has tricked at least 15,000 people into shelling out more than $300 million. The callers primarily targeted immigrants and the elderly, preying their fears that they could be imprisoned or deported, officials said.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell, head of the Justice Department’s criminal division, announced the arrests.
"The U.S. government does not operate in this manner. We never call to demand that money be loaded immediately onto prepaid cards. U.S. government agencies do not call to demand immediate payments to avoid deportation or to avoid arrest." – Leslie Caldwell
The indictment, which was issued by a federal grand jury last week in Houston, charges the defendants – which include five call centers – with crimes including wire fraud, money laundering and false impersonation of an officer of the United States. Authorities served nine warrants in eight states and arrested 20 people in the international fraud and money-laundering investigation, Caldwell said.
Callers posing as officials with the Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement would tell unsuspecting victims on the other end that they had failed to pay taxes they owed or that they were at risk of deportation, and that a fast payment was needed to get them out of trouble.
Among the victims: an elderly San Diego woman who forked over $12,300 after she was threatened with arrest if she didn't pay a penalty for fictitious tax violations. And when a Colorado man did not respond to repeated demands that he pay supposed back taxes, scammers posing as him called 911 and said that he was armed and eager to kill police officers, prompting law enforcement officers to surround him at home, officials said.
WN.com, Jim Berrie
https://article.wn.com/view/2016/10/27/VIDEO_US_Charges_61_In_Indian_Call_Center_Scam/
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