Bengaluru fake call centre racket busted; 2 arrested for targeting US citizens

Karnataka State Cyber Command raided four Bengaluru locations and arrested two men linked to fake Quick Book call centres. The probe is now tracking shell companies, bank accounts and money trails tied to alleged fraud on US citizens.

In Short

• Raids at four city locations followed specific intelligence on cyber fraud
• Callers posed as US officials to build trust with victims
• Victims were sold fake tax help, renewals and activation keys

The Karnataka State Cyber Command has busted a network of fake call centres allegedly operating in Bengaluru under the name of “Quick Book”, a reputed US-based accounting company. The operation saw two get arrested accused of cheating several American citizens.

According to a press note issued by Director General of Police, Cyber Command, Pronab Mohanty, the raids were conducted as part of a special statewide crackdown on cyber fraud operations.

Based on specific intelligence inputs, officials from the Cyber Crime Police Station (South East), along with the Special Cyber Cell, carried out coordinated raids at four locations in Bengaluru where the fake call centres were allegedly functioning.

Police said the accused impersonated representatives of “Quick Book” and targeted US citizens by offering fake tax consultancy services, counterfeit software licence renewals and fraudulent activation keys. Victims were allegedly convinced to pay large amounts of money in the name of technical support and service charges.

Investigators revealed that employees working at the call centres used fake identities and names resembling those of US officials to gain the trust of victims before carrying out the fraud.

During the raids, police seized 44 SSDs, two mobile phones, two laptops, nine CPUs, scripted call documents and several other electronic accessories allegedly used in the scam.

The arrested accused have been identified as Prashanth from Delhi and Akash from Uttar Pradesh. Officials said the duo allegedly floated a company named “Circle Square LLC” and used multiple shell companies to siphon money from victims in the United States.

Police are now investigating the bank accounts used in the operation, the methods adopted for transferring money and how the proceeds of crime were converted and withdrawn.

The latest bust comes months after Bengaluru Police arrested 16 people in October 2025 for allegedly operating another sophisticated cyber fraud racket through a fake call centre under the name Cybits Solutions Pvt Ltd.

In that case, investigators alleged that the accused recruited youths from across India through fake job advertisements on platforms such as LinkedIn and Work India. After training them for weeks, they were allegedly instructed to impersonate officials from US law enforcement and border agencies and extort money from foreign victims through “digital arrest” scams.

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