David: Let's talk about who's behind the ultimate scam.

We're going to find the fraudsters.

Only on your Marketplace.

[ ♪♪♪ ]

David: We are in India, on the trail of a criminal gang.

Can you go inside the building now?

There's a good chance they've targeted you.

All right. They're going in.

They're nervous but they're going in.

We're tracking down the fraudsters behind a very

convincing scam.

David: Ever heard that message?

Well, it's a lie, not the real Canada Revenue Agency.

David: Instead, it's one of the largest cyber schemes

in Canadian history.

David: But who falls for it?

In Canada, this man did.

3,600.

This one is 7,000.

David: That makes it $10,600.

And this one is 28,000.

David: And then finally, $28,000.

Yes.

David: He's asked us to hide his identity,

worried his employer will judge him,

and he'll lose his job.

So, we're calling him Joe.

You got a call from someone saying they were with

the Canada Revenue Agency.

What did they say to you?

David: In that call, they said you owed how much money?

7,000.

David: The scammers can spoof numbers,

make it look like they're the CRA.

That's why so many of us take the call.

David: So they've gone from saying $7,000,

to now it's $32,000?

Yes.

David: What impact has all of this had on your health?

David: He's not alone.

In just five years, Canadian authorities have received more

than 60,000 complaints, over $10 million stolen.

And those numbers keep rising.

Why do you think it's been so successful?

Because it's so well-organized.

David: Mark Simchison used to lead the Major Fraud Unit of the

Hamilton police.

The criminals are using victim vulnerability,

and it's not every day and every Canadian citizen that is being

victimized by this.

It is the vulnerable, the elderly, new immigrants

to Canada, that may not know all of our laws.

David: He says this super-scam goes beyond fraud.

I'd also term it as extortion.

They are threatening people with arrest,

incarceration, deportation, you name it.

That's extortion.

It goes beyond fraud.

David: Even as we investigate the calls,

like many of you, we're getting harassed by them, too.

David: We want to find the scammers.

Step one...is calling them back.

Yes, hello.

I am calling because of a message received

to call you back.

It said that money was owed?

David: We know this is a scam.

You went into this store?

To this store.

David: All right, let's take a look.

This location, with this machine.

David: But Gehangir Rashidi did not.

He's originally from Iran and believed a government could

actually do this.

How did this start?

David: What did you think when you heard?

It's a huge amount.

David: The total amount he paid?

David: His life savings, gone, disappeared

into an untraceable Bitcoin machine.

After hearing his story, it's time for us to

confront the scammers.

My name is David Common.

I'm a journalist at a television program called CBC Marketplace,

a Canadian TV show.

I'm wondering why call centres in India are harassing Canadians

and pretending to be tax authorities when they aren't.

David: Why are you lying?

Why are you taking money from Canadians who don't owe money?

David: Yes, I am a journalist.

Do you feel honest with your work?

David: You feel honest? Because this is not honest.

David: Do you feel bad about what you do every day?

David: Do you just work for other people?

David: Minutes later, he admits where he's calling from.

Are you in Mumbai or are you in Pune?

David: You're from one of them?

David: That's the lead we've been waiting for.

After even more digging, we've narrowed down our search.

Off to Mumbai.

So...we're going to confront them in person.

While the scam ends up in Canadian homes,

it begins right here, in India.

David: Ritesh Bhatia is a top Indian

cyber security investigator.

David: But money isn't the only motivator

for the young scammers.

David: What they're not seeing is the other side.

David: He says the scammers are smart,

their technology is sophisticated,

constantly changing tactics to stay hidden.

When you see the phone number, it looks like its a Canadian

number, not an Indian number.

David: And, he says, there's a reason the callers are asking

for the money in Bitcoin.

David: When you hand that money over, it is gone.

It's gone.

David: Two years ago, the largest call centre scam in this

country's history came to an abrupt end,

all because investigators in this police station found out

what was going on, ultimately arresting hundreds of people.

So how long have you been police commissioner here?

The top cop behind the raid was Param Bir Singh.

David: They lived a great life, the ringleaders?

David: A private jet?

David: That gives you a sense of just how much money

was involved here.

David: You have taken action on this scam.

That's right.

David: Do you think that it is still operating?

David: But our detective work shows it has not been wiped out.

There are new scammers in town.

Don't go anywhere.

We have information on where a call centre has been operating,

and this is around the time that they would begin making calls to

places like Canada.

We're going to try to confront them,

coming right up on Marketplace.

[ ♪♪♪ ]

David: Get more Marketplace.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter,

cbc.ca /marketplace.

David: This is your Marketplace.

It's one of the largest cyber schemes in

Canadian history.

Fake CRA calls threatening thousands of Canadians.

-This call is from the Canada Revenue Agency...

David: And after months of digging,

we've traced those fake CRA calls to India.

David: Yup, yeah, okay.

Inside this complex is an illegal call centre set up to

impersonate tax authorities, threaten honest people,

and steal millions.

Which one is the call centre?

We've hired Sudhir Kotian to go inside,

to help us find the scammers.

He fits the profile-- young, tech savvy,

and hungry for work.

Did you hear them asking for money?

David: $7,000?

David: But then...they discover Sudhir's hidden camera.

What did they do to you when they realized?

First, they slapped me.

David: They slapped you. And then what did they do?

They punching on my back, pulling my hair.

David: Pulling your hair.

Did they take the camera from you?

Yes.

David: Right away, and did they--

They take my mobile.

David: They took your phone.

My phone. My purse.

David: Your wallet. Did you have money in there?

-Yeah. -David: You had money?

-2500 rupees. -David: 2,500 rupees.

How did you get out?

David: The scammers were inside this office,

but we can't get in.

Soon after they found out we were on to them,

the place shut down.

You must have been scared.

Yeah.

David: These are serious people.

I think that they will kill me.

David: You were worried they would kill you.

Yeah.

David: Locked up. Run away.

Sudhir's okay, but it's clear we need to be careful.

As we continue our chase to find an active scam centre,

we need the inside scoop.

Meet whistleblower Jayesh Dubey.

It was big money.

David: More than you would make anywhere else?

David: Just two years ago, he worked at a different scam

centre, following a script and impersonating

an American tax agent.

David: You're threatening people.

You're saying they could go to jail,

they could get arrested.

David: That sound familiar?

Back in Canada, Joe says he fell for that script,

and it cost him over $36,000.

This is a difficult question to ask now,

but why did you stay on the phone with him,

and not say, "I need to hang up and call my accountant,"

or do some research?

David: We want to talk to those so-called officers.

And with night falling in Mumbai,

it's morning in Canada, so young scammers

are getting ready to make calls.

Our Intel suggests they're doing it here-- one of the sketchiest

slums in Mumbai.

We're just minutes away now from an apartment where we know a

call centre has been operating.

We know these people are dangerous.

We also know this area can be dangerous.

And so we're working with some local Indian journalists

to help us get inside.

But after driving past the address,

our helpers have a warning.

Do you think we can safely go in the building?

David: Can't do it. And why is that?

What is the danger?

David: With worries that people watching the building are

armed, and knowing we'll stand out,

our helpers are going inside solo.

Outside, hidden from view, we wait.

And then our helpers call.

So, the call centre has moved out?

-They've-- they've-- -Moved out, yes, yes.

David: They've-- they realized someone was on to them?

But then, our man on the inside hangs up,

and sends this urgent text message...

So, it's now clear to us this area is dangerous,

that we need to get out, that we're being watched,

and that the people who went into the building for us,

they're being followed.

This is worrying.

We need to get out of the area fast.

Kilometres away, we catch up with those helping us.

And they are scared.

We know there was a call centre in that apartment.

-Yeah. David: But it's gone?

David: To escape.

David: Chased on foot, then on motorcycle.

This criminal gang wants to protect themselves,

and has already shown a willingness to be violent.

And why do you think they were following you?

David: We may not have caught the scammers this time,

but as we close in, their call centres shut down.

And as far as we know, this is the closest any journalist has

ever come to confronting them.

Cybersecurity investigator Ritesh Bhatia says the scam

centres always seem to be one step ahead.

David: What you're talking about sounds like organized crime.

David: It's huge!

David: You mean the police are profiting?