Busting phone scammers: Police raids shine light on overseas call centres (Marketplace)

this is your marketplace exclusive access catching the scammers in our backyard it certainly helped CBC did their expose or episode on marketplace first the CRA scan I fed them the inside story from India we were trained like that who pretend to be legen our iris officer then tracking the tech support scam why do you do this illegally what does it say that we were able to get inside calls for action make sure that Canadians are protected organized criminals and the scams won't stop their money laundering CRA scam tech support scams sin skin all connected feeding on each other's leads revealed only on your marketplace [Music] just outside Toronto federal agents are gearing up the rest go after months of investigation they're about to carry out key arrests way comes Oh we'll be cracking down on an international scale targeting Canadians safety we have exclusive access to witness this takedown rates 2 a.m. we've just got the call we've been waiting months to receive we knew the Mounties have been watching alleged scammers and how they tell us they're ready to move in in some ways this began two years ago with an investigation of our own on the other side of the world it's a scam Canadians know all too well not the real Canada Revenue Agency but one of the largest cyber schemes in Canadian history there will be legal as we work to locate the scam centers in Mumbai India we met up with a whistleblower who previously worked inside one Jayesh Dube it was big money yeah it was big money more than you would make anywhere else I can only get anywhere no easy to read the script threatened the person on the other end of the line all while impersonating an American tax agent thank you for calling IRS home LP so we were trained like that to become an IRS officer to pretend to be like an hourish officer you're threatening people you're saying they could go to jail they could get arrested do you could get arrested if you cry to fight against the IRS then the penalty is $75,000 which you can never pay and your assets and all is going to get please we track calls like that to a scam center inside this building [Music] but when our local helpers knock on the door so the the call center has moved out they some of they realized someone was on to them it turns out the danger is still there so it's now clear to us this area is dangerous that we need to get out that we're being watched and other people who went into the building for us they're being followed it all shows how dangerous these scammers can be why do you think they were following him we still have questions how do the scammers know who to call how do they get money from victims could it be there's an accomplice at the top in Canada Jahangir rashidi has those same questions how did this start with one call phone call they call and they said this is Revenue Canada and Government of Canada lawsuit view for ninety nine thousand five hundred dollar what did you think when you heard it's a huge amount I said I don't have it he said go and borrow from the bank go to your friend go to your employee go wherever you can make money doesn't matter just you have to pay you have to pay you pay he's from Iran where the government actually does make demands like this he worried the call was legit and paid big one hundred and ten thousand altogether forty five thousand was my RSP and then five thousand dollar my saving account $4,000 for my last paycheck checking account $5,000 from my son and the rest credit card long line of credit is life savings gone back in India so how long have you been police commissioner here top cop Paramveer Singh says the scam kingpins are leading a rich light one of the main accused he had a very high-profile lifestyle he was probably thinking about buying a private jet also at that point of time a private jet he was thinking of buying one yes funded by million stolen from victims living in North America and Commissioner Singh has another shocker about police in Canada nobody contacted us from Canada no one's caught no one no one contacted American authorities did contact us no one contacted although on the website of RCMP and we did see a post relating to other cases once but you're telling me 60,000 people at least have complained in Canada and nobody from Canada is doing anything nobody pointed and the only way you found out about it is by going on the RCMP website yourself that's right yeah that doesn't seem right they don't simply when our story airs across Canada there is outrage can the Public Safety Minister explain why Canadians have to depend on the CBC to unearth this scam and protect Canadians will the Prime Minister tell us how we will follow up to ensure that these calls stop and to make sure that Canadians are protected against organised criminals in India services and intelligence agents to do what needs to be done to protect Canadians at home and overseas the RCMP later say they have been talking to India but all this attention puts the issue on the front burner empowering more people to come forward this is really scary this is really scary my stomach was just at SEC you feel thick a month after our story taught brass order a special task force be set up at this secure facility outside Toronto we get inside the headquarters but what the RCMP call project Octavia it's essentially a national priority investigation and inspector Jim Ogden has a surprise certainly what I know and what I can share is that there are our known targets leads when we get enough evidence then we will charge and prosecute these individuals and just so I'm clear are we talking about people who are in this country in Canada that's correct who are helping carry out this scam that's correct they're defrauding the Canadian public and sending it sending it away they're their money laundry while the Mounties focus on tracking the Canadians connected to this crime our trail took us back to India a year after our first investigation into the CRA scam and we closed in on the call centers carrying out another one this time we had something up our sleeve hiring someone to sneak in a hidden camera were the first to get inside the tech support scam with criminals using scare tactics to demand payment for a computer fix you likely don't need what made you think this was legitimate he sounded genuinely concerned and led me to believe that he could fix the problem when Diane begins Facebook account stops working she calls up a number she thinks is for Facebook support but ends up with a convincing scammer instead when you look back on it now how do you feel about it I was vulnerable at the time and I was impulsive yeah and I feel very violated that they had access to everything on our computer our laws should protect us against things like this after months of our own investigation we're ready to confront those targeting Canadians which is amazing to think it's right here back in India we've seen the scammers can be dangerous so we're moving quickly [Music] the company whose name is at this address says this is a legitimate operation but we know some of the people inside are running a scam why do you have a call center here why do you do this illegally we want to talk to top bosses there are real victims real victims these are real people who cannot afford to lose this money you're taking it from them it seems no one here wants to talk to us at least while we're here they're off the phones anyone want to say anything nobody okay back in Canada we share our findings with the RCMP s highest-ranking Financial Crimes official superintendent Peter Payne what does it say that we were able to get inside a call center like this yeah no I applaud your efforts for getting in there but once again police alone cannot solve this issue there's lots of call centers over what do you say to the scammers were over there if you think they're unstoppable uh we're not giving up this battle turns out that's a bit of foreshadowing the Mounties know there are accomplices in Canada they know who they are we're about to find out too this is your market place on the roads outside Toronto a man has no idea police are on his tail the RCMP closing in on Canadians they say are accomplices in an enormous cyber scheme and we're about to witness it all go down we're just outside the RCMP secure facility after months of investigation into some of the largest cyber schemes in Canadian history they're ready to take action and these are schemes like the CRA scam the tech support scam the bank investigators scanned the syn card scam all of it coming to a head early this morning we started our investigation in October of 2018 inspector Jim Ogden oversees project Octavia the specialists unit investigating oversees call center scams my message is that we'll find you and we'll we'll further investigate and we'll we'll charge where we can we've traced many of these scams back to India like the tech support scam how much money was stolen from you three thousand three thousand dollars when now hid fill opposes phone stops working she Google's a solution and calls the number that appears on her screen he went onto the phone and he said there are many problems on the phone there are hackers from Russia from India from Brazil he said all that about your phone yeah he said it's a complicated issue we need to work on this phone has to be minimum three thousand dollars to be able to do the transaction now he pays on her money gone I said where's my money is where does one money are you with this converse are you thieves he's then hung up the phone then I tied the game like ten times twelve times nobody want to answer even as police close in on multiple scams the scammers are adapting adding a new scheme involving Canadian Social Insurance numbers we just offended your social insurance number and legal enforcement action will be taken against you as we found some suspicious activities and law enforcement is getting help from a big name in the tech world that's bringing us back to Microsoft headquarters near Seattle and the inside its Digital Crimes Unit we were here a year ago checking out how artificial intelligence is helping trace the scammers this is a very profitable crime with a very low risk of prosecution we need to invert that equation lawyer one hard way overseas the global unit here feeding tips and evidence to India over the last ten months Indian law enforcement has dismantled ferry call centers has brought to justice seventy two directors of call centers there but Microsoft tells us while there have been arrests in India there hasn't been one conviction of a scam boss since 2014 you got this letter right show me that that's really interesting but Hardaway says they're not giving up continuing their war with the scammers he says Microsoft gets a complaint of someone impersonating their agents every seven minutes but guys are now selling calls for call centers to exploit it's almost like a scam franchise exactly and it has evolved into that because there's so much money to be made and as I said the profits are so big relative to the investment our own investigation has led us to believe that there are people in Canada helping with this scam helping move money and do other things is that something that you understand as well yeah that's correct one trail leads to this house in suburban Vancouver CBC the first to discover court documents which accused the man who lives here of retrieving the money for a fraud connected to these scams he even allegedly moves approximately a million dollars through his accounts prosecutors say that is laundering the proceeds of unlawful activity and are trying to seize the house his father owns it and denies any wrongdoing while his son has now reportedly fled to China we need to target the wallets of the bad guys so that if the money stops flowing they're not going to be able to keep their operation running and they will go out of business Microsoft is targeting those money mules and talking the Canadian police about how to do it we're working with law enforcement and with also other banks financial services industries to identify those bad bank accounts or merchant accounts so that they can be suspended and money be returned to victims and they're not the only ones Canadian police are hot on the case too the Mounties are about to take down what they call a super money mule a top-level scam associate who lives right here in Canada who they are and how the Mounties found them coming up this is your marketplace it's a federal raid our CMP officers about to move in there on the tail of a man they say is a big player in scam calls that plague Canadians they took away my trust my confidence everything now hid philipose is a victim of one of those scams she's waited a long time to see action who should be trying to stop these guys why done that what it is in Canada and India cooperate together victims like knobhead and all of us who get these calls incessantly are about to see the RCMP act seconds after the target arrives at work officers move in we're not allowed to get any closer to this Factory in Georgetown Northwest of Toronto as the man and the reflective jacket is taken into custody everything in his pockets placed in bags by police seems he had no idea that he was being surveilled that people police officers were following him and they got him just as he showed up for work we've agreed not to identify the police since many of them are undercover the man is being charged with fraud money laundering and property obtained by crime we watch as he's taken away a morning he'll probably never forget as the man arrives at the RCMP headquarters in Milton Ontario to be fingerprinted and processed officers are on the phone to his wife telling her she's wanted - her husband already in custody she's told to turn herself in and were there when she arrives [Music] they were essentially money mules or money mule managers that were receiving bags of cash RCMP inspector Jim Ogden tells us his team's investigation shows this couple was working directly with Indian scammers and then essentially dispersing it and making it accessible to those that are running the illegal call centers in India what helped get you to this point today the CBC Marketplace episode you did in India certainly raised a flag for the public safety minister and a senior representatives in the RCMP at a later news conference Gurinder Preet dhaliwal 37 years of age from Brampton Ontario and inderpreet Delhi well 36 years of age also from Branton are charged with the following criminal offenses one count of fraud over $5000 one count of laundering the proceeds of crime and one count of property obtained by crime the Mounties reveal thousands of dollars in cash more than a hundred thousand in jewelry even a money counting machine allegedly used by the couple the couple have yet to appear in court to submit a plea in response to the charges it's about time a lot time guys we show footage of the arrests tonight when you see a guy like that in handcuffs I'm happy definitely very happy about that and I appreciate what the police has done to do this this is a big victory even if I'm not getting my money I'm happy that an action is being taken for other people to be saved this is very important kudos to the woman who knew interviewed and was willing to come forward and tell everything tell all victims need to see that that they're not alone watching the RCMP take down mark simcha s'en the former head of a major fraud unit good for them good for them well bloody time this is something that you've waited a long time to see are you surprised that it's happened I wanted to have faith and I'm glad they proved me right that's kudos to them because that must have been really difficult must have been really difficult and kudos to marketplace and hookahs because here are the ones that instigated all of this in my view what do you know the likelihood is that these scam calls disappear not very not very they're gonna continue the frequency may drop may change why is that because there's still victims here that are vulnerable fraud is you know it's theft with a smile the arrests aren't over the RCMP say they're targeting more people in Canada and abroad this is gonna be a deterrent for sure we're gonna get our co-conspirators that are here in this province thinking twice about well I thought we were untouchable and they're not it's the counterfeit crackdown it says in big red letters we don't sell any fakes five companies 100 products I'm shocked by me other people are just happening too how many other people don't even know this is happening getting a good deal or getting ripped off with us safe and you follow the money it gets really scary could the products be dangerous lead and the chromium concentrations are quite high fighting back on your marketplace

Channel: CBC News

Views: 5,212,119

Rating: 4.7670822 out of 5

Keywords: RCMP, phone scam, call centres, investigation, scammers, arrest, fraud, scam, CRA, tech support, India, Mumbai, Toronto, Milton, Georgetown, GTA, Ontario, Canada, CBC, CBC News, CBC Marketplace

Id: g2QZT89aRCs

Length: 22min 30sec (1350 seconds)

Published: Fri Feb 14 2020