A call centre, mobile phone, and landline are shown in this illustration photo. Thomson Reuters Foundation/Nura Ali
What’s the context?
With few jobs, India’s youth are turning to the gig economy, scam call centres and AI microwork for low wages and few protections
- India poised to be most populous country in April
- Lack of jobs pushing youth into gig work, scam call centres
- Low-identity – called people in the United States, enticed them to sign up for loans and <a I didn't realise at first. It was only much later that I realised that the job was to cheat people after speaking to other colleagues who worked there," said Saurav, 25.
“But I was already too involved in it, and I was certain that I would not get another job where I could earn 20,000-25,000 rupees ($241-$302) a month, so I continued working there,” he told Context.
The call centre was one of thousands perpetuating telefraud on millions of people every day in India, the United States, Britain and elsewhere, with employees posing as tax officials, as workers at banks and insurers, and as tech support.
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Indian police have raided hundreds of such centres in Ahmedabad, Delhi, Gurugram, Mumbai and Kolkata in recent years, and said they have charged thousands with fraud.
Saurav and two of his colleagues were arrested last year, and he spent five months in jail.
As he belatedly realised, was part of the dark underbelly of India’s $220-billion information technology services industry that boomed as global firms outho spoke English
