India intensifies intelligence-led crackdown: busts fake Apple call centre preying on US victims
India’s Delhi Police AATS (West) raided a Naraina call centre named Veptra, arresting seven for fake Apple/iOS support scams targeting US residents via gift cards. Devices, cards and an Audi A3 seized. FIR 279/2026.
India is sharpening an intelligence-led offensive against cross-border tech-support fraud.
On 25 September 2026, Delhi Police’s Anti-Auto Theft Squad (AATS), West District, acted on a tip-off and raided B-68/1B, third floor, Naraina Industrial Area Phase-II, shutting down a call centre operating as Veptra and arresting seven people accused of impersonating Apple/iOS support staff to steal from residents of the United States.
The operation, confirmed by the official DCP West Delhi account, fits a deliberate pattern: map the tip, hit the floor, seize the digital kit, and chase the money trail before the cell relocates.
What the raid found
Police say the arrested include alleged owner Arun (29) and partner Salim (28), both from Kakrola, along with five callers, Nikhil, Montu Singh, Tirhuchu, Karan and Vishal.
Posing as Apple support, the team allegedly dialled US numbers on toll-free lines using fake Western names, claimed victims’ devices were infected with viruses, malware or pornographic content, and pressured them into buying gift cards whose codes were then harvested.
Recoveries underline how compact these export-oriented scams now look on the ground:
- 5 laptops loaded with remote-access tools (AnyDesk, UltraViewer, Eyebeam) and US call records
- 12 mobile phones, 2 routers, 6 headphones
- 10 credit/debit cards and 5 cheque books
- 1 Audi A3 car
FIR 279/2026 has been registered at Naraina police station under relevant cheating and conspiracy provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act.
Investigators say they are still mapping the wider network and the proceeds pathway.
Part of a wider Delhi push
The same week, Dwarka police separately arrested five people in Uttam Nagar over an Amazon/Apple impersonation cell using VoIP apps, another reminder that Delhi remains a hotspot for small, high-turnover centres that cold-call overseas victims.
Indian police units are treating these clusters as serial targets: tip-driven entry, rapid arrests, device forensics, and follow-on mapping of handlers and payment rails.