New Delhi | A cyber fraud syndicate that duped several people on the pretext of high returns through bogus stock investments has been busted with the arrest of a 24-year-old student, police said on Monday.
The accused, identified as Aniruddh Pratap Singh, was apprehended from Gurugram on March 19, for his role in facilitating shell companies and bank accounts used to route cheated money, they said.
"The case came to light after a complaint was filed by Munish Chandra, who alleged that he was cheated of Rs 6.83 lakh by fraudsters posing as representatives of a firm. The victim was added to a social media messaging group where he was lured with stock tips, fake analysis reports and promises of high returns," a senior police officer said.
He later transferred the money into multiple bank accounts and was shown fake investments, including IPO subscriptions, on a fraudulent platform. However, he could neither withdraw the funds nor verify the investments, he added.
During the investigation, police found that Singh, a student of the company secretary course, had incorporated a shell company and operated a bank account that received Rs 1.7 lakh of the cheated amount in the first layer.
"So far, 18 complaints have been linked to the syndicate. Further investigation is underway to trace the other accused and the remaining money," the officer added.
Gurugram | Gurugram police busted a cyber-fraud gang operating from the Philippines and has arrested a man associated with them, officials here said on Monday.
The accused was identified as Rahul Kumar (30). He was responsible for operating and delivering illegal SIM boxes, they said.
Police said that illegal devices were supplied through the Nepal-Bihar route, and to commit cybercrimes, calls were diverted through SIM boxes.
Police have recovered five SIM boxes with 32 SIM port antennas each, eight routers, 18 batteries, three UPS (inverters) and a total of 504 SIM cards of Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and a mobile phone.
According to the police, two house owners of Gurugram filed a complaint alleging that their tenants were illegally operating SIM boxes (GSM gateways) in their houses, which can be used for unauthorised telecom activities and cyber-crimes.
Following the complaint, two separate FIRs were registered on March 17. The police conducted raids at the rented houses where they found illegal devices which were used in cybercrimes.
Priyanshu Dewan, ACP Cyber, said that while taking effective action based on technical assistance, a raid was conducted in Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh on March 18, and Rahul Kumar was arrested.
Kumar was produced before the court and was taken on five days of police remand, he added.
"During interrogation, the accused revealed that he drives a car in Noida.
He was in contact with a person in the Philippines through one of his associates, through whom he received the SIM boxes, routers, and other equipment in Noida. He then set up and checked the SIM boxes via video calls with the Filipino man," ACP Dewan said.
"The accused revealed that he had delivered the SIM boxes and other items in Gurugram and received Rs 15,000 in exchange from the Filipino man. SIM boxes and other items come from the Philippines to Nepal, and from Nepal, they are sent to Bihar in India and from Bihar, they are delivered to different places," the ACP explained.
Further investigation in the case is underway, the officer added.