\\’Indian call centres stole USD 300 million from Americans\\’

\ From Lalit K Jha\ Washington, Oct 28 (PTI) The five Indian call centres,\charged with defrauding thousands of Americans, stole more\than USD 300 million from their victims, US Homeland Security\Secretary Jeh Johnson has said.\ Johnson yesterday said an inter-agency effort resulted in\the indictment of all five call centers and 56 people,\including 31 from India, as well as the arrest of 20 others in\the US, most of whom are Indians.\ He said they were \\"engaged in defrauding thousands of\victims, stealing more than a total of USD 300 million.\\"\ The scheme involved a network of call centers based in\Ahmedabad, where associates of the ring would call victims in\the US impersonating Department of Homeland Security, Internal\Revenue Services, or other government officials, demanding\payment in order to clear fictitious arrest warrants, orders\of deportation, or unpaid income tax, Johnson said.\ The five Ahmedabad-based call centers that made calls to\people living in the US are Hglobal, Call Mantra, Worldwide\Solution, Zoriion Communications and Sharma BPO Services.\ The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration\(TIGTA), Department of Homeland Security, Department of\Justice, the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Trade\Commission announced the indictments, the result of a\three-year investigation that was the largest single domestic\law enforcement action connected with the impersonation scam.\ \\"To date, more than 1.8 million people have reported to\TIGTA that they have received an impersonation call; more than\9,600 victims reported that they paid the impersonators a\total amount that exceeds USD 50 million,\\" TIGTA Inspector\General J Russell George said.\ \\"The largest single amount paid as a result of the IRS\impersonation scam as charged in the indictment is USD\136,000, paid by a victim in California,\\" George said.\ The US Senate Aging Committee, that studies issues\related to older Americans, received more than 1,100 calls\from senior citizens across the country on its fraud hotline\in 2015.\ The most common complaint reported to the fraud hotline\continues to be the IRS impersonation scam. PTI LKJ BSA\ZH\