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FM
Former Member

'About bloody time': RCMP arrest alleged Canadian 'money mules' tied to scam calls from India

Marketplace investigation leads to police probe and arrests

https://i.cbc.ca/1.5464552.1581709515!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/16x9_780/brampton-couple-arrested-linked-to-cra-scam.jpgThe RCMP have arrested a married couple alleged to be acting as money launderers for those behind scam call centres operating out of India. Police also seized $26,000 in cash and $114,000 in jewelry from the couple's home. (CBC)

Federal authorities have arrested a Toronto-area husband and wife accused of being Canadian accomplices to an enormous global scam involving overseas call centres, including the so-called CRA tax scam. 

The calls will be familiar to many Canadians: Scammers, commonly in India, impersonate officials from the Canada Revenue Agency and insist the recipient owes taxes and must pay immediately, or else face arrest or imprisonment.

Gurinder Dhaliwal, 37, and Inderpreet Dhaliwal, 36, both of Brampton, Ont., were arrested and charged on Wednesday, said Insp. Jim Ogden, of the RCMP's financial crime unit for the Greater Toronto Area.

They each face one count of fraud over $5,000, one count of laundering the proceeds of crime and one count of property obtained by crime.

"We have disrupted the necessary flow of money from Canada to India, which will have a big impact on the operation and bottom line of scammers," Ogden said Friday, in announcing the charges.

https://i.cbc.ca/1.5464599.1581710574!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_1180/rcmp-insp-jim-ogden.jpgRCMP Insp. Jim Ogden announces the arrest of two Canadians in connection with the infamous CRA telephone scam that originates overseas during a news conference in Milton, Ont., on Friday. (Michael Wilson/CBC)

 

Officials also announced they have issued a Canada-wide arrest for a third individual, a 26-year-old man, who is currently believed to be in India.

RCMP also investigators searched the couple's home, seizing $26,000 in cash, $114,000 in jewelry, a cash-counting machine and envelopes allegedly sent by scam victims containing money they believed they owed.

How the arrests went down

Earlier this week, Marketplace was present when officers arrested the couple.

Undercover RCMP officers had been tailing the couple for days. Early Wednesday morning, Gurinder Dhaliwal stepped out of his home, got into his car and headed for work at a nearby factory.

Officers don't believe he had any idea he was being followed; unmarked vehicles tailed him, switching positions to avoid detection. 

https://i.cbc.ca/1.5464572.1581709938!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_1180/rcmp-sting-cra-tax-scam-ridealong.jpgAn RCMP officer takes part in a sting north of Toronto that saw an Ontario man arrested in connection with the CRA tax scam early Wednesday morning. (CBC)

"When he comes out, we'll be ready for him," said one RCMP officer. 

As Dhaliwal pulled into the parking lot of his employer in Georgetown, Ont., at 5:45 a.m., the order was given and officers surrounded the man.

  • Watch the full Marketplace behind-the-scenes investigation, Catch a Scammer, at 8 p.m. (8:30 p.m. NT) Friday on CBC TV and Gem.

Within seconds, he was taken into custody, the contents of his pockets emptied as police loaded him into a vehicle to take him to the RCMP's financial crimes unit in Milton, Ont., where he was fingerprinted and processed.

https://i.cbc.ca/1.5464612.1581710772!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_1180/rcmp-sting-in-georgetown-linked-to-cra-scam.jpgRCMP officers, whose identities CBC News has agreed to keep secret, huddle outside the accused man's workplace on Wednesday morning. (CBC)

Police allege Dhaliwal acted as an intermediary between Canadian victims and the organized crime groups operating the call centre scams back in India.

A few hours after the man was arrested, officers then called his wife, Inderpreet Dhaliwal, ordering her to come to the RCMP detachment. She, too, was under police surveillance and was taken into custody as soon as she parked her car.

In an exclusive interview with Marketplace following the arrests, Ogden said his team's investigation reveals this couple was working directly with scammers operating out of India.  

"They were essentially money mules … that were receiving bags of cash, then counting cash, and then essentially dispersing it and making it accessible to those that are running the illegal call centres in India." 

The couple have yet to appear in court to submit a plea in response to the charges.

Marketplace gets action 

Marketplace has reported extensively on these overseas call centres, twice travelling to India to investigate. That coverage was instrumental in action being taken back here at home, Ogden said.

"It certainly helped that CBC did their exposé ... that highlighted this a little more for all Canadians, including the RCMP. It pushed us in that direction and certainly investigate it," he said.

Ogden leads Project Octavia, a special task force formed in 2018 to investigate the widespread scam. It came about one month after a Marketplace investigation identified the location of one major criminal enterprise in Mumbai behind the harassing calls.

At the time, a senior Indian police commissioner said the RCMP had never reached out to co-ordinate prosecution of the offending call centres. Canadian federal officials later said they were communicating with other authorities in India and conducting their own investigations. 

"We started our investigation in October of 2018 [and] these particular individuals that have been arrested today and will be charged actually came to light in March of 2019," said Ogden.

'More arrests coming'

Police have since worked with Indian authorities to carry out a flurry of raids against suspected illegal call centres in the country. Canadian officials said Friday they know of 39 call centres, in the New Delhi and Noida area, that have been shut down.

Ogden said still others will face police scrutiny and that he anticipates more arrests and charges "in the next few weeks."

He also offered this message to those still involved in the scam: "We'll find you, and we'll further investigate, and we'll charge where we can."

Victims of the scams are often elderly or new Canadians who don't realize that federal tax authorities or major tech companies would never demand payment unsolicited, either by phone or online, or ask them to pay in difficult-to-trace Bitcoin or retail gift cards.

https://i.cbc.ca/1.5464607.1581710710!/fileImage/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/original_1180/nahid-philipos.jpgAfter falling victim to tech support scammers in India, Nahid Philipos is thrilled to see arrests have been made in Canada. (CBC)

That's what happened to Nahid Philipos, a Toronto woman who lost $3,000 to the so-called tech support scam — after calling a number she found online when her iPhone stopped working.

After news of this week's arrests, Philipos said she is relieved to see police finally making arrests here in Canada. 

"Even if I'm not getting my money [back], I'm happy that action is being taken for other people to be safe. It is very important," she said. 

Still more work to be done 

Mark Simchison, the former head of the Hamilton Police Service's major fraud unit, has been following these types of scams closely for years.

"Good for them. It's about bloody time," he said about this week's arrests.

https://i.cbc.ca/1.5464587.1581710169!/fileImage/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/original_1180/mark-simchison.JPGMark Simchison, the former head of the Hamilton Police Service's major fraud unit, said he is pleased to see Project Octavia moving forward. (CBC)

Before this action, Simchison believed Canadian authorities were not sufficiently prioritizing the issue.

"I wanted to have faith and I'm glad that they proved me right," said Simchison. "And kudos to … Marketplace, because you were the one that instigated this, in my view."

Simchison said while he is pleased to see Project Octavia moving forward, it's clear, however, that there's more work to be done. 

"Slowly, they may erode away at this; it's not going to stop overnight, but it may deter them. And then, of course, something new will come along unfortunately. But that's just the way it works. That's how fraud works."

With files from Jenny Cowley and Desmond Brown

Replies sorted oldest to newest

That is just a drop in the bucket, many more scammers out there. How about the Nigerian scammers, they need your bank account to put millions of dollars, once they get your account they withdraw all the cash. Older folks still fall for those traps.

K
Sean posted:

KP this is a major break in the Canadian ring. Good job by the RCMP. 

The RCMP should apply severe pressure on them so that they point all the offenders. This is a big operation, many are involved.

K
kp posted:
Sean posted:

KP this is a major break in the Canadian ring. Good job by the RCMP. 

The RCMP should apply severe pressure on them so that they point all the offenders. This is a big operation, many are involved.

Real Estate and Mortgages are another area of fraud. By the time the fraud is uncovered they are off to India or Pakistan.

Mitwah
Sean posted:

KP this is a major break in the Canadian ring. Good job by the RCMP. 

Canadian authorities have been following these issues for some time and information are presented as apt.

A few articles were posted on GNI as information becomes available on apprehensions in India.

One of the major hurdles is that the Canadian authorities cannot make direct interventions in India. They have to rely on the operations of the Indian authorities to address the matter when information is transferred by the Canadian authorities.

FM
Mitwah posted:
kp posted:
Sean posted:

KP this is a major break in the Canadian ring. Good job by the RCMP. 

The RCMP should apply severe pressure on them so that they point all the offenders. This is a big operation, many are involved.

Real Estate and Mortgages are another area of fraud. By the time the fraud is uncovered they are off to India or Pakistan.

These people also do credit card fraud over the phone. One day I played their game to see how far they would go. In the end, they asked for my 16 digit credit card number. I told the guy I can't give him that yet. He asked me why. I told him I was not done F'ing his mother, wife, and sister yet. He hung up.

FM
alena06 posted:

Surprised people are still falling victims to these scams. Brampton has an overload of Indians.

They are also targeting Indian students living in Canada, who fell threatened with the phone calls. Market Place, actually set the trap with a Indian student who lost $5000 Cad.. the RCMP  was able able to trace the calls with Market Place help. 

2E9B4637-74C2-45AB-9F77-7D7B04D68B87C56B9831-D030-4871-8650-A21C6C458DFA
They also set up fake phone numbers for CRA customer service and when you call in, it prompt you to different departments ( voice similar to CRA) they would asked to enter your Social Insurance # .. 

They have now target QuickBooks customer. I almost got caught last Thursday. 
I google customer service, wanted to add someone as Admin. I was suspicious, the moment the gig answered the phone... usually QB has prompt.. so I proceed with my conversation.. he said, he need my info .. I give him my phone #. He was unable to access my company information with my phone # and I hang up the call . 
He call me back right away, and the call display in Dallas ( see attachment) - he then want to share my screen- then I figure it’s a scam, and told him to F off and hang the phone up. 

When I contact QB thru my profile login, they were notified of the scam Jan 23rd and send me a link ( fraud department) to fill up my experience. 

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FM

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