22 arrested in West Bengal for posing as Amazon employees, duping people

At least 22 people have been arrested from New Alipore area in Kolkata for running a fake call centre by impersonating as Amazon employees and duping several people, police said on Wednesday.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of Anti-Rowdy section of Kolkata Police's Detective Department conducted a raid late Tuesday night at the centre located on Bankim Mukherjee Sarani in New Alipore.

The accused were found operating the call centre without any valid documents, a police officer said.

"Initial probe revealed that conversations were made by the accused over Voice Over Internet Protocol communication system, introducing themselves as employees of Amazon. They would tell the gullible callers that their gift money would be refunded," he said.

Among those duped, there are many residents of Australia, he said.

"The accused used softwares like Teamviewer and Anydesk to remotely access and take control over target computers and compelled the victims to pay in Australian dollars," the officer said.

Many incriminating articles and documents were seized from the call centre, he added.