Ahmedabad, Nov 21 (IANS) The Vadodara police have uncovered a major interstate cyberfraud racket that targeted American citizens from a bungalow in Talsat village, officials said on Friday.
Acting on specific Intelligence, a police team raided Vintage Bungalow number 51, which functioned as a central collection hub for multiple illegal call centres operating across India.
According to investigators, the accused bought the personal data of US citizens for just Rs 80–90 per entry, sent them text messages offering loan approvals for a 30 per cent commission, and threatened them in the name of the FBI.
The accused exploited a loophole in US banking rules that temporarily credits failed transactions after KYC, convincing victims to deposit money into prepaid cards, officials added.
These funds were then converted into rupees and transferred to India via the Angadiya network.
Police have arrested three key accused -- Arun Rawat, Sneh Mukund Patel and Ansh Hitesh Panchal -- and secured four-day remand.
Preliminary findings suggest that more than 80 American nationals have been cheated till now.
Vadodara Assistant Commissioner of Police (Cyber Crime), Mayur Singh Rajput, said the racket's network extended beyond Vadodara.
"The operation here was the collection point for several call centres across the country. The method used was shocking in its precision," he said, adding that the scammers sent targeted offers based on victims' CIBIL-like credit scores and harvested credit card data through specialised groups.
During searches, police found multiple Telegram channels used to coordinate the fraud, including groups named AK-47 Backup (US), Dollar Riches, Mr. Work, Super Salesman, and Ammu, each handling functions such as data extraction, loan processing, credit card details, currency conversion and wallet transfers.
Police have gathered substantial digital evidence and are tracking additional suspects.
The case details will also be shared with the FBI, which is expected to carry out parallel investigations into the US-side of the fraud.
The international cybercrime racket, which siphoned money from unsuspecting Americans to India, is now under a full-scale probe by Vadodara authorities.
