An Indian telecommunications firm is among six companies fined a record Rs 3.6 crore (Rs 36 million) after they were held responsible for a series of telephone and text message frauds in the United Kingdom.
The six companies fined £450,000 (Rs 3.6 crore) are Indiano Communications from India; Greenbay Ltd and Quartel Ltd, registered in the British Virgin Isles; Fast Way Holdings Ltd of Croatia; Litmus Ltd, registered in the United States; and Vertical Media Ltd of Malaysia, it was officially announced.
Each has been fined Rs 6 million (£75,000) for various breaches of the ICSTIS code of practice, including not making clear the price of the call, and have been barred from operating premium rate services.
According to The Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services which regulates premium rate lines, the firms contacted tens of thousands of mobile phone and landline users telling them that they had won cash prizes of Rs 80,000 (£1,000) or 160,000 (£2,000) and instructed them to call a premium rate number charging as much as Rs 120 (£1.50) a minute.
However, the prizes turned out to be holiday or flight vouchers with attached conditions that made them virtually worthless.
Those targeted received text messages, telephone calls from operators or automated tapes, or what appeared to be missed calls on the mobiles.
Attempts to contact the number apparently used to make the missed call connected callers to a recording promoting the scam.
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