THIMPHU: The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) is reviewing a high-profile fraud case involving a call centre in Thimphu that allegedly impersonated major foreign telecommunications companies to scam unsuspecting victims, mostly elderly, across the globe.
The centre, reportedly operated by four Indian nationals from Kolkata, tricked foreign nationals, particularly from Australia and the UK, into disclosing sensitive financial information, including bank account and credit card details. The operation reportedly led to significant financial losses for dozens of victims.
A Bhutanese man had secured a business licence to set up the centre, which was housed in Babesa.
In 2024, Thimphu police arrested the Bhutanese licence holder, three Indian nationals, and two senior Bhutanese female employees in connection with the alleged scam.
While the OAG declined to provide specifics citing the ongoing review of the case, a Kuensel source revealed how the centre operated and how it was eventually exposed.
Aside from the four Indian masterminds, more than 20 Bhutanese employees worked at the Babesa call centre. Most of the staff were young, single women under 25, many of whom had completed class XII. All were required to assume foreign names and communicate exclusively in English with an Australian accent.
The employees were also prohibited from opening windows, and when visitors came, the staff had to immediately shut down their computers and phones. All outgoing calls were monitored and recorded.
The centre impersonated Telstra Group Limited, Australia’s largest telecommunications company, by calling potential victims and offering fraudulent discounts, claiming they could receive an extra 20 per cent off services if they provided banking details on top of an existing ten per cent if they use Telstra services.
Working in two shifts—7 am to 2 pm for Australian targets and 2 pm to 8 pm for the UK—the employees used scripts and call lists supplied by the Indian operators. These lists included names, addresses, and postcodes of individuals overseas.
The employees had to call these people, confirm their details, and persuade them to give their bank details, such as account number, bank name and available balance.
According to the source, the victims often gave their bank details directly. Victims who expressed loyalty to other service providers, such as Vodafone, were falsely assured that the call centre also represented those companies.
Once victims shared their financial details, they were forwarded to senior staff who, in turn, passed them along to the four Indian ringleaders, complete with PIN codes when possible.
The operation began to unravel after “Blue Space”, a front for the call centre, posted job openings for “Call Centre Agents” on Facebook in 2024. The listing required applicants to be fluent in English.
A source said that the centre had previously operated at Hong Kong Market under a tourism licence, but it had been raided once before. However, they resumed operations.
Around 30 job seekers who applied for the job were asked to visit the office in Babesa.
One applicant said that she was suspicious when employees had to use only their foreign aliases, hiding their Bhutanese identities.
Candidates were interviewed first by two senior Bhutanese women, and later by the four Indian men.
After that, the centre provided training for the new recruits. The employees were asked to adopt Australian-sounding names and memorise detailed sales scripts to deal with the clients.
Initially led to believe the work was legitimate, new employees were trained to call foreign clients and convince them to disclose financial information. The target for new recruits was to obtain bank details of at least 20 victims.
They were promised Nu 1,500 (US$17.42) for each successful case. The base salary was Nu 10,000 (US$116), but promised incentives were not paid.
By the second month, some new recruits realised they were participants in a scam. One young woman, disturbed by what she discovered, confided in her parents. And her family alerted the police.
The police raided the Babesa call centre early one morning, seizing all phones and electronic devices. However, the alleged ringleader—an Indian national identified as Vijay—had already fled the country weeks earlier and remains at large.
Sources revealed that the two senior Bhutanese women arrested were in relationships with their Indian counterparts and lived in the same building in Babesa. - Kuensel/ANN
