Cyberabad police bust international fake call centre targeting Australian citizens

Nine individuals operating a fake international call centre operating from Madhapur were arrested following a joint operation by the Balanagar Special Operation Team (SOT) and cybercrimes wing of the Cyberabad police. Officers seized 12 computers, 21 mobile phones, two routers, three stamps and a Thar vehicle during the raid. The accused defrauded Australian citizens of an estimated ₹8–10 crore over the past two years.

Police said that the call centre was functioning under the guise of Ridge IT Solutions at Ayyappa Society in Madhapur. The prime accused, Praveen and Prakash, cousins from Khammam district, recruited individuals from Kolkata, trained them in Hyderabad, and used them to execute the fraud.

Investigations revealed that the accused contacted Australian citizens using VoIP applications such as X-Lite, manipulating them through fake security pop-ups and emails that claimed their computers had been compromised. Victims who called the displayed ‘customer care’ number were connected directly to the Madhapur call centre of the fraudsters. Once engaged, the tele-callers convinced them to grant remote access to their devices via AnyDesk, following which access to online banking accounts was taken and funds were illicitly transferred.

Police said the illegally obtained money was channelled to bank accounts in Australia belonging to Indian nationals studying or residing there. The funds were later routed back to India through hawala networks, cryptocurrency transactions and other concealed methods. During the raid, 45 Australian bank accounts were found stored on an office phone, with investigators suspecting that hundreds more had been misused. In addition, 12 computers, 21 mobile phones, two TP-link routers, three stamps and a vehicle were also seized during the raid.

Those arrested include Yepuri Ganesh (30), Marampudu Chenna Keshava (26), Moumita Mondal (27), Eazaz Ahmed (42), Sambit Roy (27), Shannik Banerjee (24), Moumita Mallick (33), Silpi Samadder (33) and Kunal Singh (37). Seven of them were reportedly brought from Kolkata and housed in Madhapur for tele-calling operations. Remaining accused are yet to be traced.

Police stated that Ganesh and Keshav, also from Khammam district, managed the daily operations and facilitated the stay of the Kolkata employees.

The syndicate allegedly used the bank accounts of Indian students in Australia to receive the proceeds of crime. Following the arrest, the Cyberabad police have issued an advisory urging NRI students and parents not to share or rent out international bank accounts under any circumstances, warning that such acts may lead to serious legal repercussions.

Citizens have been asked to report suspicious online activity or information on fake call centres via Dial 1930 or the Cyberabad WhatsApp number 9490617444, with an assurance of complete confidentiality.

Investigators are now tracing the wider network behind the supply of ‘leads’ and are probing links to other international cybercrime cells.