CCB unearths illegal telephone exchange scam, 6 held

The accused would avail of internet service from a leading private telecom company which would offer faster services for call centers. They purchased 180 landline devices and used them to convert Voice over Internet Protocol  (VOIP) calls into local calls illegally using several devices.

Bengaluru(Karnataka): The CCB, with the help of the telecom department officials, unearthed an international telephone exchange racket and arrested six persons. The scam came to light when the telecom officials were probing a threat call to a Puttur-based man from an unidentified person from a foreign country using a local number. The CCB officials raided Icon Tours and Travel situated in Mahadevapura and arrested the six accused.

According to the police, the accused were operating the racket in five different places, including the tours and travel agency in Mahadevapura. The accused would avail of internet service from a leading private telecom company which would offer faster services for call centers. They purchased 180 landline devices and used them to convert Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) calls into local calls illegally using several devices.

The accused have been identified as Ravichandra, Suber, Manu, Ismail Abdullah, Sahir, and Johar Sharif of Kerala. They would buy SIM cards from U.P., M.P., West Bengal, and other parts of the country to install them on SIM box devices which could convert VOIP calls into local calls bypassing the security checks.

The accused rented a house in Chikkasandra on Hesaraghatta main road where they were operating the SIM box device.

The police have seized 16 SIM box devices, 2 trunk call devices, 9 PRI (primary rate interface), five laptops, 2 desktops, 9 mobile sets, 6 routers, and 25 BSNL SIM cards from them. The accused have been booked under various sections of the IT Act and the Indian Telegraph Act.