LUCKNOW, Sept. 19 -- The first voice on the other end of the phone was allegedly that of a technical support agent. The caller claimed to represent Microsoft or a "global technical support" service and offered to fix a supposed virus or security problem on the victim's computer.

But according to Lucknow police, the real trap began once the victim allowed remote access to the computer.

Police shared details of the entire modus operandi on Saturday and said how a 16-member international cyber fraud call centre was busted at Ridhya Plaza in Aliganj on Friday. Police also revealed how the miscreants allegedly operated a carefully divided three-stage system to target mainly US citizens.

The operation had separate agent, verifier and closure...