6 open bank a/cs for cyber crooks in 18 states, held

Ghaziabad: Six persons were arrested for allegedly facilitating bank accounts in 18 states for gangs that cheated people after putting them under ‘digital arrest’ – a modus operandi being increasingly adopted by fraudsters who ask their targets to appear on a video call and threaten them against disconnecting it or leaving the room.
Police said they had identified 73 bank accounts that were opened in different states and used by the gangs to park the money swindled from targets.Seven mobile phones, a car, and a few fake Aadhaar cards were recovered from them.
Police said all the accused were from Rajasthan. They were Kishan (23) of Sikar, who led the gang, Lakhan (22), Mahendra (22), Sanjay Sharma (32), Sambhu Dayal (41) – all from Sidwanain — and Praveen Jangid (31) of Jaipur.
ACP (cybercrime) Vivek Ranjan Rai said the police action followed a complaint by Noida resident Pramod Kumar, who lost Rs 52.5 lakh in a cyber fraud on May 9.
Pramod, police said, received a call from an unknown number and was told that a parcel containing photocopies of his IDs and 100g of MDMA had been detained.
“He was asked to appear in a WhatsApp video call, which lasted for almost 24 hours. He was threatened with legal cases and let off only when he agreed to pay up Rs 52.5 lakh. An FIR was registered in the case on May 14 under sections 419 (cheating by impersonation) and 420 (cheating and dishonesty) of the IPC and provisions of the IT Act,” Rai said.
The bank accounts where the money had been transferred were uploaded on the National Cyber Crime Response Reporting Portal (NCCRP).
“We found that these accounts had been reported in 18 states, including Delhi,” the ACP added.
Vijay Gautam, the SHO of Cyber police station, said the accused would lure people from the weaker sections of the society to open bank accounts in their name against a petty commission.
“They would be paid Rs 10,000-15,000 for each account. We have sent an email to the banks concerned and asked for more details. We are waiting for them to take further action,” he added.