Noida: A call centre, which allegedly ran a cyber fraud racket under the guise of credit card KYC updates and reward point redemption schemes, was busted on Tuesday. Two persons were arrested during a raid conducted at a building in Sector 2.Police said the accused targeted credit card holders by posing as representatives of private banks and tricked them into downloading malicious applications to steal confidential banking information.Acting on local intelligence and electronic surveillance inputs, police learned that the fake call centre was being operated from the fourth floor of the building located in C-90. A police team from Phase-1 police station recovered three mobile phones used in the fraud, along with two gold coins and two silver coins purchased using the cheated money.The accused — Vikas Kumar and Suraj — told police they worked on a commission basis and used stolen data of credit card holders from various banks, including AU Bank and Axis Bank.Vikas from Palwada village in UP’s Hapur district resides in Ghaziabad’s Govindpuram, while Suraj from Rasmai village in Hathras district lives in Delhi’s New Ashok Nagar. Investigators said the gang used random delivery addresses to avoid being traced by the police. To escape digital tracking, the accused frequently changed their SIM cards and destroyed them after carrying out multiple frauds.The duo would contact customers pretending to be bank employees and offer assistance for updating KYC details or redeeming unused credit card reward points. To execute the fraud, the accused persuaded victims to download an APK file that closely resembled an official banking application. Once installed, the fake app enabled the fraudsters to gain access to sensitive details such as credit card numbers, CVV codes and other banking credentials entered by the users.Police said the malicious APK file also allowed the accused to intercept OTPs sent to the victims’ phones. Using the OTPs and stolen card details, the gang made online purchases through platforms such as Blinkit, Zepto and other applications. The accused primarily ordered gold and silver coins, which were later sold in the market to convert the stolen money into cash.DCP Shavya Goel said the mobile numbers used by the accused were linked to more than 20 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal from different states across the country.Vikas has a criminal history, and a case was registered in 2023 at Sector-63 police station against him under charges of cheating, forgery and provisions of the IT Act. Police said efforts are underway to trace other members of the gang.
