Archive · 29 Oct 2025
Maharashtra Police Bust Fake Call Center, Detain 116 for Duping US Citizens
Imagine some people pretended to be tax collectors in America.
They would call people and say they owed money for taxes and would get in big trouble if they didn't pay right away.
To pay, the people had to buy special gift cards.
The fake tax collectors would then take the numbers from these gift cards and get the money for themselves, even changing it into a type of online money called cryptocurrency.
The police found out about this fake call center and stopped it, taking away the people who were doing the scamming.
Maharashtra police busted a fake call center named Connect Enterprises in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
116 people, including a juvenile, were detained in connection with the operation.
The scam involved calling US citizens, impersonating tax officials, and demanding payment for alleged dues.
Victims were coerced into buying digital gift cards, with the funds later converted to cryptocurrency.
The call center was reportedly operated by Valay Vyas and targeted US citizens based on intelligence inputs.
- Who
- Maharashtra Police, 116 individuals (including a juvenile), Valay Vyas
- What
- Busted a fake call center (Connect Enterprises) and detained 116 people involved in a scam targeting US citizens.
- When
- Tuesday (specific date not provided)
- Where
- Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra
- Why
- The call center was allegedly used to impersonate US tax officials, threaten citizens with pending tax dues, and dupe them into buying digital gift cards, with funds then converted to cryptocurrency.
- Location
- Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Maharashtra
- Number of Detainees
- 116 (including one juvenile)
- Call Center Name
- Connect Enterprises
- Alleged Operator
- Valay Vyas (Ahmedabad-based)
- Modus Operandi
- Impersonating tax officials, demanding payment via digital gift cards, converting funds to cryptocurrency
- Employee Salary
- ₹25,000 to ₹30,000 per month + incentive of ₹3 per USD