Are Overseas Call Centers Training Extortionists?

Overseas Call Centers are Security Risk

My nightmare began several weeks ago, when a man called me at work claiming that I was overdue on a loan that I had never taken out.  When I refused to wire funds through Western Union to his accomplices, the lines at the public university where I teach were flooded with calls.  Anyone answering the phones was insulted and threatened with bodily harm, and the University  switchboard was temporarily shut down through a flood of automated calls.   But what happened next is even more startling.

Every local and federal law enforcement agency imaginable was contacted and they all said the same thing.  "Oh yes, we're familiar with these scammers.  In fact, Homeland Security and the FBI have issued bulletins laying out their modus operandi.  They seem to be on the rise, shutting down hospital switchboards, local police departments and even the U.S. Coast Guard if payments are not made. And yes, they are extorting millions of dollars every month from Americans who fear that these attacks  at their place of employment will cost them their jobs.  But there's nothing we can do about them because they're based in India.  Please fill-out a complaint form."

My anger at the Indian extortionists quickly morphed into a more localized rage.  It was incomprehensible to me that given all the trillions of dollars American taxpayers pay to keep our borders safe, we could be so utterly unprotected from foreign extortionists.



That's when the ugly truth punched me in the solar plexus nearly doubling me over.  What does it mean to outsource call centers that handle Americans' most sensitive personal information and yet have no jurisdiction or regulatory authority over them whatsoever?   Overseas call center employees handle confidential or sensitive information but are not subject to the same background checks that US-based agents are.

Either India and other countries with U.S. call centers  take steps to reign in their racketeers or Americans should have their Representatives in Congress pass legislation to bring these desperately needed jobs back to the U.S.