In 2022, Indian-based phishing groups and scammers cost US citizens more than $10 billion.
According to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which was revealed by one of the biggest Indian Newspaper Agencies, the bulk of these victims was discovered to be elderly and had been defrauded of over $3 billion over the previous two years.
Under the guise of offering technical support or other help, fraudsters operating illegal call centers in India have been preying on Americans, particularly older individuals.
In only the past 11 months, fraud involving the Internet or call centers cost Americans $10.2 billion.
According to the research, this is an increase of 47% from the previous year, when the total amount of money stolen was estimated to be $6.9 billion.
The Delhi Police reported earlier this month that they had detained three men who were operating illegal call centers in the nation’s capital and cheating US senior citizens by providing them technical support for “malfunctioning” equipment.
While three of the accused were apprehended in Delhi during overnight searches, one of their collaborators was apprehended by Canadian Law Enforcement in Toronto, and the other was apprehended by the FBI in New Jersey, in the United States.
The police reported that between 2012 and 2020, over 20,000 individuals fell victim to these frauds, costing America a loss of $10 million in revenue.
A permanent representative of the FBI has been sent to the US Embassy in New Delhi in light of the rise in frauds coming from India.
By collaborating with the CBI, Interpol, and the Delhi Police, the FBI hopes to reduce such crimes with this, according to the TOI story.
According to scams reported on the FBI website, romance-related frauds cost victims approximately INR. 8,000 crores in 2021 and INR 8,000 crores in the final 11 months of this year, according to an official with the US embassy in Delhi named Suhel Daud, who was quoted by TOI.
To read our blog on “Billions of rupees are stolen from citizens via online housing and auto finance scams,” click here.