Inside Pune’s Fake Amazon Call Center That Extorted Crores from Americans
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 24th May 2025: In a major crackdown on cybercrime with international links, the Pune City Police have busted an unauthorized call center operating from the Pride Icon building on Kharadi-Mundhwa Road. The racket, allegedly run under the name Magnatel BPS & Consultants LLP, was targeting American citizens with fraudulent threats of “digital arrest” to extort money, primarily through gift cards.
The raid was conducted jointly by the Cyber Police Station and Crime Branch, Pune City, following a tip-off about illegal operations being run from the 9th floor of the building. The accused were masquerading as Amazon support agents, falsely informing victims that their accounts were compromised and used for drug trafficking, then coercing them to buy gift cards under the threat of arrest.
“We received credible information about an organized cybercrime syndicate operating from Kharadi and targeting US citizens using digital deception. After verifying the location, our team raided the premises and unearthed a large-scale international fraud,” said Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma.
Five Arrested, 123 Employees Found at Illegal Setup
Five individuals have been arrested in connection with the operation:
Sarjitsingh Girawat Singh Shekhawat (resident of Kharadi, originally from Jhunjhunu, Rajasthan),
Abhishek Ajaykumar Pandey,
Shrimay Paresh Shah,
Laxman Amarsingh Shekhawat, and
Aaron Aruman Christian (all originally from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, now residing in Pune).
The call center operated during U.S. business hours, from 6 PM to 2 AM IST. At the time of the raid, 111 men and 12 women were found working at the facility. Police seized 64 laptops, 41 mobile phones, 4 routers, and several documents including employee IDs and English-language call scripts used to deceive foreign victims. The total value of seized items is estimated at ₹13.74 lakh.
During the inspection, investigators discovered suspicious software including VPNs, spoof calling apps, and data repositories containing mobile numbers of thousands of American citizens. The accused allegedly used these tools to contact victims and carry out the scam.
“The call center was unlicensed and involved in systematic digital fraud. The accused had access to millions of U.S. mobile numbers and used fake Amazon-related narratives to instill fear of digital arrest. Victims were forced to purchase gift cards, which were then misused for personal profit,” Joint CP Sharma added.
Illegal Profits in Crores, Probe into Crypto and Hawala Links
So far, police have traced around ₹9.6 lakh in proceeds from the scam. However, officials believe the actual fraud runs into crores, and the funds may have been funneled through cryptocurrency transactions or hawala networks. Authorities are now conducting a technical and financial probe to determine the full scope of the operation.
A case has been registered at the Cyber Police Station, Pune City (Crime No. 57/2025), under Sections 66(A) and 66(D) of the IT Act, along with Sections 316(2), 318(4), 61(1), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023.
“We’re now focusing on tracing the financial trail. Whether it’s through Indian banks, crypto wallets, or offshore accounts—every angle is being thoroughly investigated,” Jt CP Sharma confirmed.
The operation was led under the supervision of Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Joint CP Ranjan Kumar Sharma, DCP (Crime) Nikhil Pingale, and DCP (Economic and Cyber) Vivek Masal, with significant contributions from ACP Ganesh Ingle, Sr. PI Swapnali Shinde, Sr. PI Shabbir Syed, Sr. PI Ajay Waghmare, Sr. PI Pratap Mankar and Sr. PI Wahid Pathan.
The team included Assistant Police Inspector Ashish Kavathekar, Police Sub Inspector Tushar Bhosale, Police Sub Inspector Santosh Tanwade, Police Sub Inspector Ram Dalvi, Police Sub Inspector Vaibhav Magdum, ASI Kailas Vachavan, Avinash Ingle, police personnel Hole, Waghmare, Vijay Pawar, Balasaheb Sakte, Nilesh Jadhav, Harish More, Vishal Ithape, Devidas Wandre, Amit Jamdade, Hrishikesh Vyavar, Nikhil Jadhav, Seema Sudit, Smita Hambir, Janhvi Madekar, Sandeep Pawar, Mandhare, Dinesh Markad, Sachin Shinde and Pravin Rajput.
