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NORTH AmERIcAN Newsline JANUARY 01, 2021 | The Indian Eye 22

CaLL Center sCam:

us court shuts down India-based operations

Telemarketing and web sites exposed following a joint operation by US authorities

and Central Bureau of Investigation

Our Bureau In October 2020, India’s
Central Bureau of Investigation
New York (CBI) and the US Department

US federal court has of Justice took simultaneous
permanently shut down actions against a technical sup-
A US-based comput- port fraud scheme, which was
a
er scam that preyed on elderly allegedly masterminded by an
Americans using call centre op- American citizen and operated
erators in India resulting in loss- from call centers in India to de-
es of hundreds of thousands of fraud hundreds of elderly and
dollars. In a statement on Tues- vulnerable people in the US.
day, the Department of Justice In response to a complaint
said that the court gave the filed in the US, a federal court
permanent injunction against had ordered Cotter and five
Michael Brian Cotter and four companies to stop engaging
companies barring them offer- in the technical-support fraud
ing technical support through scheme, which allegedly de-
telemarketing and web sites fol- frauded hundreds of elderly and
lowing a joint operation by US vulnerable American victims, it
authorities and India’s Central The scheme allegedly con- software via telemarketing or said.
Bureau of Investigation (CBI). tacted US consumers via inter- websites. The complaint was filed by
The alleged fraudsters in net pop-up messages that false- Acknowledging India’s role, the civil division’s consumer
some cases impersonated Mi- ly appeared to be security alerts Acting Assistant Attorney Gen- protection branch and the US
crosoft, which brought cases from Microsoft or another well- eral Jeffrey Bossert Clark said, attorney’s office for the south-
to the attention of the Trans- known company. “The department is grateful for ern district of Florida and the
national Elder Fraud Strike The complaint asserted that the cooperation of foreign law action was coordinated by the
Force., the Department said. Cotter worked with co-conspir- enforcement, including India’s Transnational Elder Fraud
The Department had filed in ators in India to operate the Central Bureau of Investiga- Strike Force established last
October a request for the in- scheme, including registering tion, in investigating, disrupting, year to combat foreign fraud
junction against Cotter and the website domains, setting up and prosecuting technical-sup- schemes targeting American se-
companies before the court in shell companies, and entering port fraud schemes and other nior citizens.
Miami, Florida, which is an area into relationships with banks schemes originating abroad and The complaint had sought
with a concentration of retirees, and payment processors to fa- directed at the American pub- both preliminary and perma-
and a temporary injunction was cilitate the collection of funds lic.” nent injunctions to prevent the
granted immediately and was from victims of the scheme. The widespread fraud was defendants from further victim-
now made permanent. Individual victims paid hun- brought to the attention of izing consumers. According to
The court in Florida issued dreds to thousands of dollars to the Transnational Elder Fraud the complaint, the defendants’
an order of permanent injunc- the scheme for unwanted and Strike Force by Microsoft, scheme contacted US consum-
tion against Michael Brian Cot- unnecessary technical-support which often is impersonated by ers via internet pop-up messag-
ter, 59, of Glendale, California, services, Justice Department those engaged in technical-sup- es that falsely appeared to be se-
and four companies in the case said. port fraud schemes. curity alerts from Microsoft or
investigated with the help of In- Besides Cotter, the court or- Justice Department said another well-known company.
dia’s Central Bureau of Investi- der bars Singapore-registered since President Donald Trump The pop-up messages fraudu-
gation (CBI). A complaint filed Global Digital Concierge Pte. signed the bipartisan Elder lently claimed that the consum-
in October 2020 alleged that Ltd., formerly known as Tech Abuse Prevention and Prose- er’s computer was infected by a
Cotter worked with unnamed Live Connect Pte. Ltd., Neva- cution Act (EAPPA) into law, it virus, purported to run a scan of
co-conspirators in India from da-registered companies Sensei has participated in hundreds of the consumer’s computer, false-
at least 2011 to 2020 to oper- Ventures Incorporated and NE enforcement actions in criminal ly confirmed the presence of a
ate a technical-support fraud Labs Inc., New York-registered and civil cases that targeted or virus and malware, and then
scheme, the Justice Depart- KeviSoft LLC — from selling disproportionately affected se- provided a toll-free number to
ment announced Tuesday. technical-support services or niors. call for assistance.

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