New Delhi: The Intelligence Fusion & Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit of the Delhi Police has busted an interstate racket which duped users with tempting deals on social networking sites and arrested two alleged members.
The arrested duo, Sonam of Delhi and Juned Akhtar of Noida, executed fraudulent transactions amounting to as large as Rs 30 lakh, according to the specialised unit which looks after cybercrime cases.
Unsuspecting shoppers used to get a call allegedly from one of the accused once they clicked links given in the advertisements posted in online platforms BigBasket, DMart,
and Blinkit.
The racket members used to allegedly then share links which were to be downloaded on mobile phones. Once these links were clicked, the victims lost control over their phones and the scammers stole OTPs to execute frauds.
The syndicate came under the scanner of cyber specialists, when a person approached the IFSO unit with a complaint that he was defrauded of Rs 98,000 after he came across a compelling advertisement on Facebook.
Based on this complaint, the unit lodged an First Information Report (FIR) to begin the probe.
The investigators said 15 such complaints were received in which users were lured by advertisements on social media and cheated of their money.
Sonam used to call interested users from fake mobile numbers and shared links with them, according to IFSO investigators. Akhtar had opened the bank account in which defrauded money was credited, they said, adding that he took a commission of 15 percent for facilitating money transfers into his account and then withdrew amounts using his ATM card.
Gang members kept in contact through mobile phones only for which they were using multiple SIM cards — 40 such cards were confiscated along with the ATM card by the police.
After filing the FIR, the unit started tracing the digital footprints of the transactions and followed it up with an analysis of the Call Detail Records (CDRs) to establish if there was any money trail.
The investigators found that the syndicate was spread across multiple states and that the members worked at different levels without coming in direct contact with each other.
“We have gone to the crux of the matter and have found how this module was being operated. Those who have been arrested hold clues to others involved in this and the IFSO unit is in the know-how of cracking this case fully. We will soon arrest all involved in this setting and will completely bust the racket,” Deputy Commissioner of Police, IFSO unit, Prashant P. Gautam told ThePrint
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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