Indian Police Bust Call‑Centre Scam Laundering Rs.8–10 Crore via Crypto

Cyberabad police raided a fake call centre in Ayyappa Society and arrested nine telecallers for running a sophisticated ‘Australian accent’ tech‑support scam that targeted Australians and other foreign victims. Operators used deceptive pop‑ups and phishing emails to prompt victims to call a supplied number; calls were routed via the X‑Lite app and remote access was obtained through AnyDesk to steal bank credentials. Stolen funds — estimated at Rs. 8–10 crore over the past year — were initially moved into Australian bank accounts held by Indian nationals, then converted into cryptocurrencies and laundered back to India via local digital payment channels and peer‑to‑peer platforms. Named arrestees include Y Ganesh, M Chennai Keshav, M Mondal, Eazaz Ahmed, Samvit Roy, Shannik Benerjee, M Mallick, Silpi Samadder and Kunal Singh; two alleged kingpins, Praveen and Prakash, remain at large. Police seized scripts, VoIP systems and logs showing targeted social‑engineering tactics and training materials for accent mimicry. The case underscores growing trends: accent‑based social engineering combined with crypto for cross‑border money laundering, complicating traceability and recovery. Authorities urge vigilance: verify unsolicited tech‑support messages, avoid remote‑access requests, use 2FA, and report suspicious activity to limit further losses.