US content creator says he got a tip that an office was running a scam call center in India. So he stormed it with a squad of dancing SpongeBobs

A 23-year-old YouTuber has gone viral after walking into an office building in Delhi, India, with six people dressed as SpongeBob SquarePants. The video shows the group dancing through the office while employees looked on, some surprised and others smiling.

The content creator, Justin Ho, said he acted on a tip that the office was running a scam call center. He shared details of the visit in a statement given to the Hindustan Times.

The clip has drawn wide attention online, adding to a growing trend of creators staging public confrontations with alleged scam call centers.

Costumed group entered the office and danced near work desks

In the video, Ho and the six people in SpongeBob costumes walked past the front desk and onto the main office floor. Once inside, they played music from a boombox and danced next to employees who were sitting at their computers. 

Ho opens the video by stating the plan directly: “raid a call center in India.” When security guards stepped in and used batons against the group, the padded costumes appeared to cushion the blows. The SpongeBob-costumed group then surrounded the guards and kept dancing for several minutes before leaving the building.

In his statement to the Hindustan Times, Ho explained why the group targeted the office. He said: “We got information from inside sources that they were a scam. Everyone was scared when we first showed up. Then they started laughing.” Scam identification often relies on firsthand experience, such as when a tourist’s response to a free bracelet offer leaves a scammer stunned. 

The TikTok version of the video, posted on Ho’s account @iamjustinho, has been viewed 6.9 million times. Its caption reads, “Raiding scam call centers in India.” On-screen text in the clip also describes the event as a raid on a scam call center.

Ho’s video is part of a larger pattern of online creators targeting alleged scam call centers, which are known to impersonate companies such as Amazon or Microsoft in order to defraud people, often elderly victims, mostly based in the US. 

YouTubers Scammer Payback and Trilogy Media were credited by US federal prosecutors for helping expose a $65 million fraud scheme that targeted thousands of older adults. In 2022, Mark Rober worked with Jim Browning and Trilogy Media to target alleged call centers in Kolkata using glitter bombs, stink bombs, and live cockroaches.

Reactions to Ho’s video have been mixed, with many viewers questioning parts of the stunt in the comments section. One commenter asked: “Why are the police defending the scammers?” Another pushed back on that framing, defending the security guard shown in the video: “the guard ain’t even the one scamming. he’s js doing his job. and remember…. he is someones father….”

Some viewers questioned how the call center was identified as fraudulent in the first place. One comment read: “so… how exactly did yall find out this was a scam center? Or are we just calling any building in India a scam call center?” 

Others raised questions about the legality of such workplaces. A comment read: “how are these places even legal to hire people I’m so confused.” Some viewers focused on the scammers’ possible reaction, with one writing: “Imagine the scammers on a call when this happened.” Content creators often film confrontational stunts for views, like when a teen refused to leave an Indianapolis Walmart, and security pulled out handcuffs.