Kolkata cyber police bust fake PayPal call centre, 5 arrested in Bengal raids

The Cyber Crime Branch of Kolkata Police has busted an illegal call centre impersonating PayPal and arrested five persons following a series of raids in Kolkata and South 24 Parganas. The action was taken in connection with a case registered at the Cyber Police Station under multiple sections of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, after investigators received credible information about a large-scale online fraud operation.

The first raid was conducted within the jurisdiction of Narkeldanga Police Station, where Sarim Reza, aged 28, was arrested in the early hours of January 29. Police said Sarim Reza was the principal operator and organiser of the illegal call centre. Two mobile phones were seized from his possession, and investigators claimed substantial digital and documentary evidence had emerged linking him directly to the fraudulent syndicate.

Based on further leads obtained during interrogation, the cyber police carried out a second raid within the Bishnupur Police Station area in South 24 Parganas. During this operation, four more accused were arrested from a ground-floor room at Sonar Gaon, where they were allegedly running a fully functional illegal call centre. According to investigators, the accused were actively impersonating PayPal customer and technical support executives and targeting victims based in the United States.

During the coordinated raids, police seized 12 laptops, multiple Wi-Fi routers, mobile phones, multimedia headsets, and a large volume of incriminating electronic data. Officials said the seized materials are directly connected to the fraud case and include digital leads that could help trace money trails and identify additional members of the syndicate. All seizures were carried out following due legal procedures, in the presence of witnesses and local police personnel.

Investigators revealed that the accused circulated fake PayPal customer support contact details on various online platforms and social media channels. When victims contacted these numbers through Microsoft Teams, the fraudsters allegedly convinced them to install remote access applications such as TeamViewer, AnyDesk and UltraViewer. This allowed unauthorised access to victims’ computer systems and PayPal accounts, from which funds were siphoned off and routed to foreign bank accounts and digital wallets. To avoid detection, the accused reportedly used advanced VPN services and forged electronic documents to mislead victims about their identity and location.