Uttar Pradesh police have shut down a fraudulent call centre in Ghaziabad impersonating Flipkart support to dupe shoppers. The gang allegedly defrauded customers across five states of approximately Rs 2.5 lakh. Authorities are now tracking the source of customer data used in the scam.
Uttar Pradesh police have dismantled a fraudulent operation running out of a residential house in Ghaziabad’s Shakti Khand area. The facility was masquerading as a customer support centre for e-commerce giant Flipkart. Investigators took action following intelligence gathered through a cybercrime portal, leading to the arrest of six individuals allegedly involved in the scheme.
Fraudulent Operations and Suspects
The police identified the arrested suspects as Raju Kumar, Aditya, Virat Chaudhary, Ashish, Pankaj Sharma, and Khushi. While these individuals managed the daily operations, authorities are still searching for two key members of the syndicate, identified as Kajal and Siddharth. Initial findings suggest that Siddharth acted as the mastermind behind the racket, reportedly sourcing customer data from Bihar to facilitate the fraud.
The group contacted unsuspecting shoppers, falsely claiming issues with their orders such as payment failures or pending transactions. By posing as official company support executives, the fraudsters coerced victims into making additional payments or sharing sensitive financial credentials under the guise of order verification or reimbursement. The gang targeted individuals across several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Telangana.
Financial Impact and Digital Evidence
Preliminary reports suggest the syndicate successfully defrauded victims of at least Rs 2.5 lakh. However, police officials indicated that the actual financial impact may be higher as more complaints are being reviewed. During the raid, authorities seized 10 mobile phones and Rs 20,010 in cash. Investigations have confirmed that IMEI numbers from the seized devices match multiple cyber fraud complaints filed across the country.
Beyond local investigations in Uttar Pradesh, a case registered in Cyberabad, Telangana, has been linked to this specific group, underscoring the reach of their illicit activities. Digital forensic teams are currently analyzing the seized devices to trace linked bank accounts and identify other potential members of the network.
Investor and Consumer Context
For consumers and investors, this event highlights the persistent risk of cyber fraud targeting major e-commerce platforms. While the financial loss of Rs 2.5 lakh is relatively small compared to the scale of operations of a company like Flipkart, these incidents reflect the broader challenge of data privacy and customer protection in the digital retail sector. The primary monitorable for authorities and stakeholders will be the source of the customer data used by the gang, as understanding how such information is leaked or traded is essential for preventing future occurrences of similar scams.