Two Scammers were Apprehended by the Police in UP and Bihar in a WFH Scam with 2,700 Complaints Nationwide
Two Scammers were Apprehended by the Police in UP and Bihar in a WFH Scam with 2,700 Complaints Nationwide
Scams involving remote work, which entice participants with the promise of compensation for minor assignments before manipulating them into investing with the promise of greater returns, are prevalent.
Two individuals operating out of Gopalgunj (Bihar) and Prayagraj (UP) were apprehended by the Gurgaon police. There are an astounding 2,700 cyber fraud complaints lodged against these individuals in multiple states, with the majority occurring in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Telangana.
Almost daily, reports of fraud involving work-from-home employment surface. They entail making assurances of pay for elementary activities such as interacting with social media content, terminating in the lure of increased returns through investment. Following that, both the funds and the “employers” vanish.
Two such ’employers’ operating out of Gopalgunj, Bihar, and Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, were caught by a Gurgaon police team earlier this month. At this time, 2,700 cyber fraud complaints have been lodged in various states, with Uttar Pradesh having the highest number (683), followed by Rajasthan (262), and Telangana (213). In Haryana, they allegedly deceived 112 individuals.
Forty-two of these 142 complaints were converted into FIRs, and they defrauded ₹10.3 crore from online users. This is made possible by linkage analysis, in which police link cybercrimes reported across the nation using a centralized database.
The detained individuals, according to police sources on Wednesday, worked with at least four accomplices in the cities of Kaithal (Haryana) and Bijnor (Uttar Pradesh). Preliminary inquiries suggest that an amount equivalent to ₹15 crore had been wired to the bank account of an individual of Chinese nationality.
A complaint lodged at the Cyber East police station on November 30 of last year sparked the investigation. The complainant informed Gurgaon police that he lost ₹8.5 lakh in a task-based fraud investment.
The inquiry into money transfer bank accounts led authorities to Prayagraj goldsmith Utkarsh Soni, the initial suspect apprehended by Gurgaon police on February 14.
Police were directed to Ashutosh, a student in Gopalgunj, and the second suspect who disclosed information about other associates, by Utkarsh, who confessed and directed them.
“The two men’s information was linked to 2,702 cybercrime complaints, involving 142 FIRs lodged throughout the country, and ₹10.3 crore was defrauded from victims who lodged these complaints,” according to Siddhant Jain, DCP (cybercrime), based on linkage analysis on the I4C (Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre) database of the Union home ministry.
The probe into the gang is presently redirecting its attention towards Chander Prakash Tiwari, a native of Kaithal, Haryana.
After police questioned Ashutosh, Chander, a high school dropout, and three others (Bijnor, UP residents Nitin Kumar, Abhinav, and Ankit) were apprehended from Panchkula on February 22.
Inspector Jasvir Singh of the Cyber East police station stated that Chander was a key gang member who influenced Utkarsh and Ashutosh to establish a current account and offered a commission of 1.5% to 2% on the proceeds from online frauds.
According to sources, police traced ₹15 crore that was transferred from the gang’s bank accounts to the bank and cryptocurrency accounts of a suspected Chinese national as part of their investigation.
In addition, investigators are compiling criminal records of an additional individual detained in a prison in Lucknow. This individual is suspected of serving as a link between Chander and Chinese “handlers” who are reportedly operating out of Dubai, Thailand, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
Furthermore, investigators are gathering the criminal record of an additional suspect, who is presently incarcerated in a penitentiary in Lucknow and is believed to have acted as an intermediary between Chander and Chinese “handlers” operating out of Thailand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai.
In accordance with IPC section 420 (cheating and dishonesty), the defendants have been charged.
DCP Jain stated, “Linkage analysis is aiding in the prevention of cyber frauds by apprehending those implicated in multiple cases and making it difficult for them to obtain bail for multiple offenses.”
About The Author:
Yogesh Naager is a content marketer who specializes in the cybersecurity and B2B space. Besides writing for the News4Hackers blog, he’s also written for brands including CollegeDunia, Utsav Fashion, and NASSCOM. Naager entered the field of content in an unusual way. He began his career as an insurance sales executive, where he developed an interest in simplifying difficult concepts. He also combines this interest with a love of narrative, which makes him a good writer in the cybersecurity field. In the bottom line, he frequently writes for Craw Security.
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