On May 15, 2026, police in Ludhiana, Punjab, India busted a massive tech support scam operation facilitated through numerous call centers in various properties near Sandhu Tower and Silver Oak.
How their scam worked was highly organized in that
Each call center used would have 8-10 teams of six or seven members, with every operator handling about 8-10 calls on a daily basis and receiving a fixed salary with performance-based incentives.
The scammers would generate fake virus popups, urging their victim to call a designated “suppoat” line, with calls being managed through X-Lite.
Once they gain remote access to their victims’ computer through programs like UltraViewer, the scammers will falsely claim the victims’ bank accounts were compromised for illegal activities, such as the purchasing of child p0rnography.
In order to “secure” their bank accounts or avoid “legal action,” the victims were asked to transfer large amounts of money to the scammers in the form of cash and gold pickups or the purchase of Apple or Amazon gift cards.
The money collected would be routed back to India through hawala networks, crypto transactions and other illegal means. Police estimated that a single team would generate about $20,852.92 per day.
132 bhenchods were arrested during multiple raids conducted simultaneously at each call center, with 98 laptops, 229 cell phones and 19 vehicles being seized and 300 bank accounts being frozen in the process.
Give it a month or two and they will be back, I don’t believe their country takes it seriously enough. With the multi-millions Americans pay along with other scammed countries to support their economy through these scams, their governments will go very soft on them because they want that cash flow. Now hurry, someone complain that CatMan had an opinion.
Owners often get a tip-off from the local precinct they’ve been paying off. By the time cameras arrive, the “kingpins” are long gone, and only low-level, replaceable “floor callers” are arrested.
In most cases, the “arrest” is just a formality, a show. The owner pays a “fine” (a bribe by another name), and the center is back up and running in a new location, often within 48 hours.
Even if hardware is seized, the data—including the scripts and victim lead lists—is backed up. They don’t lose a second of productivity.
Why Nothing Changes, Economic Incentive: These centers bring “Western” money into local Indian economies. There is zero local incentive to kill the golden goose.
Jurisdictional Nightmares: The crime happens in, say, New York, the criminal is in Goa or Kolkata, and the money vanishes through a mule in a third country.
The people we hear on the phone are often students or low-wage workers. They are treated as expendable, collateral damage while the owners stay untouchable.
When we’ve been tracking them to the exact building and floor for a decade, consistently reporting them, and see nothing happen, seeing a “raid” in the news is more of an insult, and we know the police are likely sitting in the office next door collecting their cut.
