Jalisco state police have raided a property in eastern Guadalajara that was operating as a fraudulent call center. Several individuals, including one minor, were detained during the operation.
According to a report from the Jalisco Prosecutor’s Office (Fiscalía de Jalisco, FE), most of the detainees, mostly men and women under the age of 25, were recruited via Facebook. Some employees told police they believed they were being hired to sell clothing or issue credit cards.
Police seized phones, laptops, headphones, and other equipment during the raid. The facility had been outfitted to resemble a professional call center, complete with individual work booths.
The call center, located on Avenida Medrano, engaged in various scams. Using personal data obtained illegally, workers contacted victims, posing as bank employees who had detected unusual account activity. Victims were persuaded to download a mobile application, which enabled the scammers to access their accounts and funds.
Financial institutions have issued many warnings about such scams. Citibanamex has even posted telephone numbers originating from scammers for clients to ignore.