The bogus Apple service centre uncovered in Palam Vihar on September 1 wasn't a reactive scam, it proactively hunted its victims. The operator first identified targets in the US, specifically screening for people above 60 years old with significant bank balances, before sending them alarming messages about privacy breaches, viruses or technical glitches supposedly affecting their iPhones. These elderly targets, often unfamiliar with technology, were then drawn into phone calls where fraudsters cited a fake Federal Trade Commission (FTC) notice and demanded sums between $10,000 and $20,000 to resolve the fabricated issues, figures well above what a new iPhone would cost.
