Thread by @NanoBaiter

1/ Meet Pankaj Dhingra and Awadhesh Kumar Verma, both of them run a scam call center located in Noida, india. Together they have stolen $1.4M from innocent vulnerable people since November 2021.

2/ I first came across Pankaj’s and Awadhesh’s scam operation when I saw a fake Google advertisement offering printer support. At first glance, these sites look pretty harmless, but in reality, it's a big scheme to get you to pay for useless drivers or firewall security.

3/ The scammer’s website had a 'Support Chat' option that asked for my name and phone number. A few minutes later, I received a phone call from one of their so-called 'Technicians.' The person on the phone instructed me to install a remote screen-sharing software called Zoho Assist, which allowed the scammer to remotely control my computer.

4/ After the so-called “technician” gained access to my virtual machine, he attempted to convince me that there were problems with the computer by showing me errors, warnings, and a ton of non-existent issues. The goal was to pitch a fake, bogus support plan.

5/ While the scammer was connected to my computer, I actually reversed the connection back to his machine. With this access, I could do things like view the desktop display and even tap into the laptop's webcam feed.

6/ I told the scammer I couldn’t afford the “support plans,” and after the phone call, I immediately started scanning their local network. On this network, I found a digital video recording system with 10 CCTV security cameras.

7/ During my investigation, I noticed that one of the managers in this call center, “Lalit Kumar,” had a remote connection to a computer outside of the office.

8/ I waited for Lalit to walk away from his laptop and dropped off everything necessary to compromise this new machine. Sure enough, I received a connection. I traced the coordinates, which led me to an apartment complex in New Delhi, India.

9/ I could see the laptop screen, and it was immediately apparent that this was Pankaj's computer. Since I had access to his personal pc, I also gained access to all of his files. I downloaded salary slips, ID cards, and recordings of all their scams.

10/ Now, it might sound odd, but the bosses were actually smart enough to manage the websites, payments, and finances through AWS servers—yet dumb enough to constantly stay logged in with full permissions. Since the machines were frequently turned on and logged in with full access, I was able to remotely connect to the server myself, where I downloaded over 370 files' worth of confidential data.

11/ I observed the activity on the servers for weeks and watched as the scammers logged into PayPal to create fraudulent invoices for their newly scammed victims. After exporting all the payment data, I discovered that they had scammed a little over 9,000 people, stealing around $1.4 million in just 36 months.

12/ Awadhesh and Pankaj live a flashy lifestyle on facebook, showing off expensive cars and pictures of luxurious vacations - but it's all done with stolen money. This photo makes me pretty angry, it's a selfie that shows pankaj wearing a shirt that reads “Self paid, Self made”

13/ Since these scammers are connected to the internet, I’m able to track all the available Wi-Fi networks. With this information, it’s possible to triangulate an exact position, usually within 30 meters. (28°37'35.2"N 77°22'19.3"E)

14/ The final task I wanted to preform was destroying the scammers' infrastructure from top to bottom. The first thing I did was report their Google AdSense account so that nobody could find their websites anymore. Then, I reported the websites themselves to JivoChat, preventing access to their chat support and phone numbers. Thirdly, I reported the scammers' Zoho Assist account to their support team. I uploaded all of this information to a private drive, which has been shared directly with my contacts in the FBI.
Thank you, @CagneyAvah for assisting with this investigation and forwarding all of my evidence to law enforcement in the USA.

15/ So, before publishing any of my findings on social media, I decided to call these scammers by their real names and remotely display a picture of Pankaj on their computer screens—while Pankaj was standing right behind them. (Watch this clip from my video to see his live reaction!)

@Uppolice Please contact reach out through my email or direct message me here on (X). Pankaj and Awadhesh deserve to be investigated and brought to justice!