Desperate for work, Kanpur man jumped at airport job offer, but it never existed

Ten days ago, a 40-year-old Kanpur resident reached the city’s domestic airport. He was excited for his first day at a new job he bagged just two days earlier.After being unemployed for several years and watching his son also struggle to find work, police said he had been desperately applying for jobs on an online platform, which lists vacancies ranging from architects and data scientists to accountants, bartenders and labourers.Then, a call came.“Are you still looking for a job? We have openings at your nearest airport,” said a person on the other end, claiming he worked at a recruitment agency for SpiceJet. He then offered the 40-year-old a job with the airlines, to work as ground staff. Seeing it as a lifeline, police said, the 40-year-old jumped in. He paid Rs 1,150 as a registration fee, followed by Rs 5,480 towards training. When the ‘recruiter’ later asked for another Rs 6,000 for a uniform, the man decided he would first report for duty and arrange the uniform later.Story continues below this ad But when he reached the airport, security personnel stopped him at the gate. Confused, he repeatedly tried calling the recruiter while standing outside the terminal. By then, the SIM card used by the caller had already been discarded, police said. The Kanpur resident, police said, was among dozens of victims allegedly duped through a fake job racket. And on Sunday, the Noida Police busted a fake call centre in Noida Sector 2 that allegedly cheated people like him by promising jobs at SpiceJet. Four people — Sudesh Singh (36), Brijesh Bhadhoriya (38), Arjun (23) and Sandeep Kumar (32) — were arrested.Story continues below this ad How it worked According to investigators, the accused accessed personal details of job seekers from online employment portals before contacting them with fake offers. “Once a victim agreed, the accused prepared forged appointment letters in the victim’s name and collected money as registration or processing fees by asking them to transfer the amount into mule bank accounts,” a police officer claimed. The officer said the accused used to work in a call centre earlier. “After it shut down, they started their own in Sector 2 in Noida. One of the accused was a former employee of the airline and would get the fake job letters printed,” said the officer. How did police trace them? The Kanpur man had not lodged a complaint after being cheated, reluctant to approach the police. He finally came forward on Sunday.Story continues below this ad While analysing WhatsApp chats on the mobile phones of the accused, investigators identified the Kanpur resident as one of their most recent targets. The action was part of ‘Operation Cyber Vajra’. “First, local police identified multiple mule bank accounts, suspicious IMEI and phone numbers. When these were narrowed down, we came across a network of numbers against which multiple complaints were registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). When police traced these, it led us to the fake call centre,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police Manisha Singh. She added that the accused also conducted fake interviews to make the recruitment process appear genuine. During questioning, police said the accused — who allegedly also worked as an e-rickshaw and cab driver — claimed the fraud was only a “part-time” activity. “They said unemployed people were desperate for jobs and could be easily lured by the promise of working at an airport, especially after hearing the airline’s name,” another police officer said.Story continues below this ad Victims across India A police officer said around 20 complaints linked to the racket have been registered so far from various states. But investigators suspect the scale of the racket is much larger, with many victims likely never reporting the fraud. Another officer investigating the case said police have identified seven of these complainants and are trying to trace them. “When we contacted the Kanpur man, he was not r