LUCKNOW, July 15 -- The Crime Branch has traced the US toll-free numbers allegedly used in the Lucknow Summit Building cyber call centre fraud to target American citizens, marking a key breakthrough in the investigation. Police have also uncovered an alleged corporate link behind the office from where the racket operated and widened the probe into suspected hawala transactions. The latest arrests have taken the total number of accused in the case to 122. The developments follow the arrest of alleged kingpin and Rs.25,000 reward-carrying accused Vineet Vashishtha and two others. According to ADCP (Crime) Kiran Yadav, the alleged fraud operated through a cross-border network in which scammers based in the United States procured US toll-free numbers and shared them with Indian operators through WhatsApp groups. The Indian callers allegedly launched mass SMS campaigns asking American citizens to contact the toll-free helpline for assistance or to resolve purported issues. Since calls to such numbers are free in the US, victims were more likely to consider them genuine and contact the fraudsters, police said. The Crime Branch identified one such toll-free number series beginning with +1-888-624-XXXX, which was allegedly used in the operation. Police said the details would be shared with the US authorities to facilitate action against the overseas operators. The investigation has also revealed an alleged corporate link. While the call centre allegedly operated under name Solaris Solution, the lease agreement for Summit Building office was executed in the name of Xicom Technologies, whose legal ownership, according to police, is linked to arrested accused Nayakar Jayaraj. "The Crime Branch is also tracking syndicate's financial trail, including suspected hawala transactions and the proceeds," Yadav said. htc...