How fake call centre in Madhapur posing as IT firm stole Rs 10 crore from Australians
Victims in Australia received fake pop-ups and emails warning that their computers were hacked
By - Newsmeter Network
Hyderabad: A fake international call centre operating from Madhapur in the guise of an IT firm named Ridge IT Solutions has been exposed.
Nine persons allegedly involved in the illegal operation have been arrested for cheating Australian citizens of nearly Rs 8 to Rs 10 crore over the last two years.
The Cyberabad Special Operations Team (SOT), Balanagar, along with Cyber Crime Police, seized 12 computers, 21 mobile phones, routers, a Thar vehicle and other incriminating material from the premises.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Cyberabad.
Prime accused from Khammam, operations launched in 2024
Police identified the prime accused as Praveen and Prakash, cousins and natives of Khammam district. They established the fake call centre in 2024 and recruited seven tele-callers from Kolkata.
The accused arranged accommodation for them in Madhapur and trained them for cyber fraud operations. Two local operatives, Ganesh and Keshav, also from Khammam district, managed daily office operations, employee movement and logistics.
How Australian victims were trapped
The fraud was executed through a well-organised international setup. Victims in Australia received fake pop-ups and emails warning that their computers were hacked.
These pop-ups displayed a fake customer care number. When victims called the number, their calls were routed through the X-Lite application to the fake call centre in Madhapur.
Remote access used to steal bank details
Once the calls were connected, the accused convinced the victims to install AnyDesk remote access software on their computers. This gave the fraudsters full control over victims’ systems, enabling them to access online banking credentials and transfer large sums of money without the victims’ knowledge.
Money routed through Australian mule accounts
The stolen funds were first transferred into Australian bank accounts belonging to Indian nationals and students based in Australia.
These mule accounts were later used to route money back to India using Hawala networks, cryptocurrency transactions and other illegal financial channels.
During the raid, police recovered details of 45 Australian bank accounts from the mobile phones of the accused. Investigators suspect that hundreds of such accounts were misused during the last two years.
Rs 8–10 crore fraud over two years
Preliminary investigation revealed that the gang cheated unsuspecting Australian citizens of around Rs 8 crore to Rs 10 crore through coordinated cyber fraud operations spread across multiple locations.
Police said further investigation is underway to identify foreign links and additional money trails.
The arrested have been identified as Yepuri Ganesh (30), and Marampudu Chenna Keshava (26) from Khammam, Eazaz Ahmed (42) from Odisha, Sambit Roy (27), Shannik Banerjee (24), Moumita Mallick (33), Silpi Samadder (33) and Kunal Singh (37) from Kolkata.
Police said more accused connected to the international racket are yet to be arrested.
Major seizures during the raid
Police seized the following items from the fake call centre: 12 HP computers, 2 TP-Link routers, 21 mobile phones, a Thar vehicle, 3 rubber stamps, and the passport of the accused Ganesh.
Advisory to NRIs and students
Cyberabad Police warned NRI parents and Indian students abroad not to share, rent or sell their international bank accounts to any individuals or agencies.
Such acts are illegal and often lead to serious criminal liability, as these accounts are widely misused for cyber fraud and money laundering.
Citizens were urged to immediately report cyber fraud through Dial 1930, Cyberabad WhatsApp: 9490617444. Police assured that the identity of informants would be kept strictly confidential.
