Law enforcement authorities bust international Microsoft scam call center

India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), the US’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Microsoft intensively worked together to take down an international operating call center pretending to be Microsoft.

The investigation into the scammers’ call center was launched in early 2024, after NCA International Liaison Officers in the US received information from Microsoft, which was then compared with Action Fraud Reports from the City of London Police.

More than a hundred victims in the United Kingdom had been contacted by a group pretending to be Microsoft and offering to fix their computer. Others received a pop-up prompt that suggested that their device was infected or hacked.

The swindlers used spoofed phone numbers and VoIP services to route calls through multiple servers in several countries. In addition, they offered so-called “software solutions” for the victims’ non-existing problems, for a fee, of course. UK victims are believed to have lost over £390,000.

The NCA found out that these fake Microsoft call center employees also targeted victims in the United States. The NCA Liaison Office in Washington, DC agreed to share intelligence and information with the FBI.

The NCA, FBI, and Microsoft identified several key suspects based in India and compiled a file of evidence that included testimonies from victims. In turn, the CBI arrested two individuals.

“By working together, we’re able to dismantle complex criminal networks, protect victims, and prevent further financial harm. We’re committed to continuing this joint effort to ensure fraud criminals are brought to justice and that the public can have confidence in our response to economic crime,” Tor Garnett, Commander for Cyber and Economic Crime at the City of London Police, said in a statement.

Nick Sharp, Deputy Director of the National Economic Crime Centre (NECC), calls fraud “a devastating crime that causes victims significant, long-lasting harm.”

“This case demonstrates the success we can have when we harness expertise from across the public and private sectors, and work hand in hand with partners abroad to target fraudsters, wherever they are,” he adds.