Around 76 locations were raided in India as part of a crackdown on phony tech support scam calls

Vanguard One · Oct 23, 2023

Indian officials have raided over 76 locations in an international crackdown on tech support scam calls. Debajyoti Chakraborty/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Around 76 locations were raided across 12 Indian states in a crackdown on tech support scam calls.
India's Central Bureau of Investigations is working with Amazon and Microsoft to combat scammers.
Over 2,000 people have been impacted by these scams, with the US being a major target.

India has been cracking down on tech support scammers in an effort to "combat and dismantle" finance-related cyber crime, officials announced on Thursday.

Officials raided around 76 suspected illegal call center locations across India, in several different states, according to a press release from India's Central Bureau of Investigations. These raids were part of a police operation called Chakra-II. The scammers often pretend to work for reputable companies like Microsoft and Amazon, according to a press release from Amazon.

Now, Amazon and Microsoft are teaming up with CBI and international law enforcement in an effort to cut down on the calls. Many of these scammers target Americans, with over 2,000 people being impacted, according to Amazon. Countries like Canada, Australia, the UK, Germany, and Spain have also been affected.

Law enforcement seized 32 phones, 48 laptops and hard discs, and 33 SIM cards and froze several bank accounts amid the raid of the 76 locations, according to CBI. The locations were in Indian states including Bihar, Dehli, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

Protect yourself from tech support scams

The FBI estimates that in 2022, over 32,000 people were targeted by tech and customer support scams, with over $800 million in losses. Amazon said it has a "zero tolerance" policy for scammers pretending to be part of the company. It has taken down over 20,000 phishing websites and 10,000 phone numbers associated with fraud scams.

Oftentimes, scammers will target elderly victims, with 69% of victims being 60 or older, according to the FBI. Ensuring that you and your loved ones are aware of the warning signs of a scam call or phishing email or text can help them avoid being tricked into handing away sensitive information.

Microsoft and other reputable tech companies will never contact you via phone call, email, or text to tell you that there's a problem with your device, Microsoft Security's Doug Thomas said in a YouTube video. He also said that pop-up messages from reputable companies won't include a phone number that you need to call to get help.

Amazon recommends that anyone who suspects they're being scammed report the activity to amazon.com/reportascam or email stop-spoofing@amazon.com.