Friday, October 7, 2016
Police in Mumbai, India arrested 70 people Thursday, the first step in dismantling a massive scam that cheated thousands of honest, unsuspecting Americans out of millions of dollars.
Posing as representatives of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or collection agencies acting on its behalf, the scammers sent recorded telephone messages to Americans demanding payment for back taxes.  The message gave a telephone number and urged the recipients to call back immediately.
Victims who believed the fraudulent messages and replied to the message were urged to settle their case by paying money or purchasing vouchers or prepaid cards and provide the voucher ID information.  The imposters used those vouches to purchase items.
As many as 600 people are involved and being interviewed.  Many of those manned a call center headquartered on several floors of a Mumbai office building.
Mumbai police believe thousands of Americans were duped during this year-long scam, generating as much as $150,000 US per day.
At least one as yet unnamed American corporation is suspected of collaborating with the scam, providing personal information of the targeted Americans.
This is a developing story. Â Check back often for updates.
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