Feds Crack Down on India-based Scam
According to The Wall Street Journal, the United States Department of Justice, in conjunction with various federal and state agencies, arrested 20 individuals associated with a large, India-based scheme to extort money from Americans on October 27. The government released an 81-page indictment announcing the discovery of the scheme, naming dozens of individuals involved in the scheme within both the United States and India.
The federal government’s original report identified 56 individuals involved in the scam. In addition to arresting 20 individuals in the US alone, the Department of Justice charged 32 individuals in India with participation in the scheme. The Assistant Attorney General, Leslie Caldwell, announced that the US would seek to extradite these individuals from India.
The scam originated in 2013 across five call centers located in Ahmedabad, India. Over the past three years, the perpetrators extorted over $300 million from at least 15,000 Americans. They did so by impersonating US government institutions, such as the Internal Revenue Service and the United States Immigration and Customs Services. Scammers’ phone calls came with American caller IDs that seemed to correspond with actual US agencies. Such perpetrators convinced target individuals of their nonexistent debts to the government, threatening them with fines or deportation if they did not resolve their financial obligations.
Scammers acquired Americans’ information from a number of sources, ranging from social media posts to unidentified data brokers. Moreover, the scam’s perpetrators funneled extorted payments through their network with “runners.” These individuals laundered the money in the form of prepaid debit cards and wire transfers, according to Al Jazeera.
One of the main perpetrators of the scam was Sagar “Shaggy” Thakar. According to The Times of India, Thakar paid 30 percent of his revenue to US-based contacts, who then stole more identities and destroyed evidence of distortion. Thakar’s success in the scam allowed him to outdo competing call center scammer Nirav Raichura, known for his “flashy lifestyle, pedigree dog, and latest cars.”
According to The New York Times, Caldwell has expressed doubt as to whether the scheme’s victims will be able to reclaim any losses. She stated that “the sad thing about these scams is, often, once the money’s paid, it’s gone...” Nonetheless, agencies such as the Better Business Bureau have responded to sprawling scams with constructive advice on how to avoid such schemes. The protection of American consumers must remain a top priority for the federal government. As the cyberspace criminals become more crafty, public and private organizations must better prepare to deter and contain them.