An India call centers scam in which "persistent" fake federal agents tried to squeeze fake debts from at least 15,000 people in the U.S. – and got more than $300 million in real cash – now seems thoroughly broken up, though it took four years.
Federal authorities on Thursday revealed the inner-workings of the scam and suggested they had only scratched the surface of what's out there.
According to the U.S. Justice Department, 61 people have been charged in the scam, including 24 people in the U.S., and extradition of other individuals based in India will be sought.
The call centers were manned by people posing as Internal Revenue Service, immigration, and other federal officials, said Reuters.
"This transnational criminal ring targeted victims in the United States, impersonating IRS, Immigration, police and other government officials, and demanded immediate payments to avoid deportation, arrest warrants or to cover allegedly unpaid income taxes," said U.S. Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell.
"In the process, these criminals took in hundreds of millions in criminal proceeds. The victims included people all over the United States, mainly vulnerable victims such as immigrants and the elderly. For example, one 85-year-old California woman was extorted by individuals impersonating IRS employees, who threatened her with arrest unless she paid $12,000 for nonexistent tax violations."
Caldwell said the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General all joined together to break the nationwide scheme.
"For nearly four years, this criminal network used a variety of schemes to trick frightened individuals over the telephone by tapping into their worst fears — arrest, deportation, and other problems with U.S. government authorities," Caldwell said.
"Once a victim was hooked, the call centers relied on a network of U.S.-based associates to cash out and launder the extorted funds as quickly as possible. This was done through a variety of prepaid debit cards, which were often registered by conspirators using personal identifying information of close to 50,000 U.S.-based identity theft victims, or through MoneyGram or Western Union wire transfers conducted with fake names and fraudulent identification."
J. Russell George, a spokesman for the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, said the scammers are "persistent" in pressuring their victims, per NBC News. "These people are resilient and won't give up."
Caldwell said authorities are trying to get word out about such scams so victims won't continue to fall for them.
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