Surat Call-Center Racket Busted; ₹9 Crore Loan and Job Fraud Exposed

Surat police have uncovered a massive loan and job fraud racket operating through two call centres on Dumas Road and Palanpur. During coordinated raids on November 15, a 16-member cybercrime team arrested mastermind Nitesh Khavani, who ran the operation through companies named Globelink Tech Services, Smaex Enterprise, and Bytesolver Pvt Ltd.

According to police, the gang targeted loan seekers and unemployed youth, defrauding more than 1,200 victims and siphoning off over ₹9 crore.

Loan Fraud Through ACH Mandates

The accused allegedly obtained data of people searching for quick online loans. Call-center employees, trained with specific scripts, contacted these applicants and falsely informed them that their loan had been approved.

Victims were then asked to share Aadhaar, PAN, and bank details for “processing.” Using these documents, Khavani’s team generated ACH mandates without consent and withdrew amounts ranging from ₹3,170 to ₹25,000 in the name of processing, insurance or other charges.

Individual victims reported deductions of ₹99 to ₹39,000 from their bank accounts, with funds routed through company-linked accounts. Police say 1,187 ACH/NACH transactions amounting to ₹9.92 crore have been identified so far.

Job Scam Targeting Youth

The second part of the racket focused on unemployed youth seeking work-from-home jobs. The accused procured data from platforms like Work India and offered candidates remote jobs with Bytesolver Pvt Ltd.

Applicants were asked to pay ₹10,000 + GST as a service fee and sign a digital contract. After ten days, victims received emails stating their contract had been terminated. They were then issued fake legal notices, allegedly through a lawyer named Ayaz L. Team, demanding penalties of up to ₹10,000 for “breach of contract.”

Police recovered 45 copies of such notices during the raid.

Dubai Connection Suspected

Investigators found that daily Excel sheets containing recovery amounts were sent to a WhatsApp group linked to a Dubai-based number, indicating international links. A WhatsApp Business account associated with the Dubai number was also active on Khavani’s phone.

Police Action and Investigation

The raids were conducted under the supervision of senior cybercrime officials, led by PI A.M. Parmar and PSI D.V. Gamit. Police have seized critical documents, hardware, and ACH mandate records.

Cyber Cell DCP Bishakha Jain confirmed that the key accused have been booked under IPC and IT Act provisions, and Khavani has been granted 10 days’ remand.

The bust has brought hope to over 1,222 victims and highlighted the growing misuse of banking systems and online platforms for large-scale fraud in the name of loans and job offers.