Cyberabad Police Crack Down On Scam Call Centre That Targetted Australians
The Balanagar SOT arrested nine members of an alleged international fake call centre racket that cheated Australian citizens of Rs 8-10 crore over two years.
Published : November 30, 2025 at 5:23 PM IST
Hyderabad: The Balanagar Special Operation Teams (SOT) in Telangana apprehended nine people for allegedly operating an 'international fake call centre' that targeted Australian citizens. During the investigation, it emerged that the key accused, Praveen and Prakash, had brought in persons from Kolkata to work at the call centre.
The gang used to send fake emails to Australians, gain remote access to their computers and siphon money from their bank accounts. Over the past two years, the group allegedly amassed and transferred Rs 8-10 crore from unsuspecting victims, primarily Australian citizens.
Cyberabad SOT Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Shobhan Kumar, Additional DCP Vishwaprasad, Inspector Sivakumar, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Ravindra Reddy, along with Cyberabad Cybercrime DCP YVS Sudheendra, disclosed the details of the case at the Gachibowli office on Saturday.
Praveen and Prakash set up a call centre in 2024 under the name Ritz IT Solutions at Ayyappa Society in Madhapur. Yepuri Ganesh (30) and Marampadu Chennakesava (26) from Kallur and Vensur mandals of Khammam district were entrusted with the management responsibilities.
Telecallers from Kolkata, Moumita Mandal (27), Ijaz Ahmed (42), Sambit Roy (27), Shanik Banerjee (24), Moumita Mallik (33), Shilpi Samaddar (33) and Kunal Singh (37) -- were hired to converse with victims in an Australian accent. They collected email IDs and personal details of Australian citizens and sent fake alerts claiming, "Your computer has been hacked," along with a customer care number.
Once the victims called back, the telecallers accessed their systems through AnyDesk software, stole online banking credentials, and transferred funds. Based on credible information, Balanagar SOT Inspector Shivakumar’s team raided the premises on Saturday and arrested the nine accused, except Praveen and Prakash. DCP Sudheendra said the main accused are absconding and will be arrested soon.
Police revealed that the stolen money was routed through accounts of Indian students abroad and laundered via hawala, cryptocurrency and other channels. They have identified details of 45 Australian bank accounts linked to the fraud.
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