Bogus Phone Operators review – Docubay’s documentary exposes the murky web of call center scams with never-ending greed

3.5/5

Bogus Phone Operators Story

The documentary investigates the dark web of call center scams that target mostly elderly people in the United States. It delves into the economic crimes and the subsequent raids in Mumbai’s Thane against fraudulent call centers that extort money from US citizens by impersonating government officials. The criminal networks and masterminds are also explored in this 44-minute documentary.

Bogus Phone Operators Review

The documentary aims to untangle the web of fraud and deceit in the Indian call center industry. The Bogus Phone Operators documentary takes you on a ride to explore the dark greed, which often leads to devastating someone else’s family just to fill their deep pockets. It aims to paint a realistic picture of the ongoing economic crimes that are slowly getting attention at a global level.

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Docubay’s latest documentary offers key insights into the twisted call center industry with the use of new technology, where transferring money is easier than ever from any corner of the world. While most of us are already aware of bitcoins, cryptocurrency, and gift cards, other methods like NFTs, Hawala transfers, and other hidden processes are explored in this documentary.

Based on the data and statistics, the documentary serves as an informative watch that reveals how elderly people are pushed into self-doubt, guilt, and helplessness after trusting strangers. One victim family narrates their harrowing experience when their elderly patriarch was extremely humiliated and mentally abused, which later drove him to suicide.

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The docufilm trails the origin of these scam call centers from Mumbai’s Thane to Ahmedabad and Gujarat with hard-hitting evidence and talking heads of people involved in these fraudulent activities. Some of the interviewees were former employees of these call centers who narrated the intricate workings of these calls. From targeting the elderly to prying on their fear of the law, these immoral fraudsters have no remorse over destroying someone’s peace and extorting their hard-earned money.

The documentary included interviews as well as a dramatized version of certain fragments and videos of call centers. Several experts from different industries of media, senior police officials, FBI officers, and cyber security personnel shared their experiences.

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Although the documentary provided an in-depth exploration of the call center frauds that duped thousands of people of millions of dollars, the current data is missing. The documentary makes the big revelation that in 2022, call center fraud amounted to 800 million dollars after scamming around 15000 US citizens. However, it is only vague not to include any data for the previous year, i.e., 2023. Whether the cybercrimes originating from call centers in India have multiplied or remained the same is an unanswered question as of now.

Another loophole in this documentary is the lack of interviews or interaction with victims. Since the data claims that over 15000 people were victims of this kind of extortion and fraud, it is quite disappointing to interview only 1 victim.

Bogus Phone Operators documentary strives to unravel the real masterminds of these scams, who operated from different locations with over 600 employees. Thane is earlier portrayed as the center of fraud, but documentary traces the origin of these masterminds, who are then revealed to be from Ahmedabad.

Helmed by National Award-winning filmmaker Satyaprakash Upadhyay, who is renowned for Bunkar—The last of the Varanasi Weavers, this latest documentary on call center scams aims to raise awareness and dares to expose the unethical call centers that impersonate IRS officials and other government workers to extort money from elderly people in the United States.

This social documentary not only investigates the unlawful means of earning money but also decodes the adverse effects of technical advancements like call spoofing or e-mail spoofing, where you get to call someone from a special number that nearly authenticates your origin as a government employee.

Produced by Nirvaan Entertainment, Bogus Phone Operators is a compelling documentary that primarily focuses on exposing the murky world of illegal call centers to combat the increasing cybercrime and tech frauds. It aims to raise public awareness on online scams.

Bogus Phone Operators verdict

A short but well-researched attempt to expose the dark web of call center scams that not only devastate families but also bring disgrace to India. Stream it to delve into the process of financial fraud that challenges the existing laws in the country.

Bogus Phone Operators is currently available on Docubay for OTTplay Premium subscribers.