Call centre scam: Sagar Thakkar used directory software

Mumbai: Thane call centre scam mastermind Sagar Thakkar used specific software considered to be the equivalent of the yellow pages in India to get the numbers and details of potential victims.

The officials also revealed that after the crackdown on the Thane call centres, countries like China and Russia noticed a difference in their data searches and after investigating, busted some call centres in their countries.

Sources in the Thane Crime Branch revealed that Thakkar during questioning described how he learnt about data mining.

“Some of his acquaintances were indulging in minor scams. He researched on data and found that he could get details of people including their credit ratings, loan payment status and their earnings. He then taught this to his employees who further trained the call centre executives,” said a source.

He added that the police even found software that was used by Thakkar to glean these details.

“The software is the equivalent of physical yellow pages of India and similar to the online phone directory White Pages. But this software would provide not just phone numbers or addresses but also other details about their financial status,” said the source.

Explaining the software, he said, “The executive would enter any name and an area. The software would give out details about all the people with the same name in the said area. The executive would then go through these and then pick out people who were either loan defaulters or having high earnings or migrants and make the call.”

The Thane police in October busted three call centres in Mira road suburbs in the city and arrested many people. In April, this year, Thakkar who was hiding in Dubai surrendered himself and was arrested.