LONDON – Police in India have arrested 70 people on suspicion of posing as IRS agents to steal cash from U.S. citizens.
Authorities in the western Indian city of Thane said they were investigating another 630 people suspected of being involved in the extortion scam.
Workers at nine call centers allegedly impersonated IRS agents during calls to the U.S., according to local police commissioner Param Bir Singh. The victims were told they owed back taxes and would risk arrest if they hung up.
Singh told CNN the call center workers had been trained to speak with an American accent.
The call centers were making $150,000 a day for up to a year before being discovered. Money would be transferred by victims of the scheme to U.S. bank accounts before being sent to India.
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