The narrator, Scambaiter, gained access to the CCTV security system of a scam call center in Kolkata, India. The call center employed 14 agents who targeted American and Canadian citizens using a Microsoft pop-up scam variant, which evolved into a banking scam. The scammers would pretend to be from Microsoft or Apple, then claim the victim's bank account had been compromised and needed to be secured. The scammers would either instruct the victim to transfer funds to a crypto exchange or withdraw cash and deposit it into a crypto ATM.
Scambaiter was able to gather information about the call center, including its location, through the CCTV cameras and the scammers' IP address. He used this information to create a folder that, when opened, would reveal the scammers' own CCTV cameras, and another folder containing the scammers' faces.
When Scambaiter called the scammers and showed them the video of their own call center, they immediately hung up and shut down their operation. The scammers have not taken any scam calls since the confrontation, and Scambaiter hopes they will remain absent from scamming people.
Here are the key facts from the text:
1. The scam call center is located in Kolkata, India.
2. The call center has 14 agents who actively scam American and Canadian citizens.
3. The scammers use a program to chat with each other on the local network.
4. The scam involves a fake virus popup message that leads victims to believe their computer is compromised.
5. The scammers pretend to be from Apple or Microsoft and offer to secure the victim's network.
6. The scam involves stealing money from victims by convincing them to pay for fake network protection packages.
7. The scammers use various tactics to convince victims to hand over their money, including playing bank call menus to make it seem like they are talking to a bank.
8. The call center is located in a dark back alley and has a total of eight security cameras.
9. The cameras show the street, rooftop, and stairs leading to the call center.
10. The scammers work during the night, from 9 pm to 5 am, and take breaks to smoke, scroll on their phones, and film TikTok videos.
11. The scammer's faces were captured on camera during their shift changes.
12. The call center's location was determined by tracing the Indian IP address to the internet service provider Alliance Broadband.
13. The billing address of the call center was found to be 7/2A, Gopal Chandra Lane, Kolkata, India.
14. The scammer's reaction to being confronted with evidence of their scam was to shut down their computers and phone system.
15. The scam call center was compromised, and the scammers have not taken any scam calls since the confrontation.