3 members of interstate gang arrested for Rs67cr cyber fraud

Varanasi: Cyber Crime Cell of Ghazipur police arrested three interstate cyber fraudsters and investigation so far has revealed that 75 cases were registered in 25 states mentioning mobile phone numbers they used for duping unsuspecting people in the name of investment, trading and gaming. Also, fraud amounting to Rs 67 crore committed using 700 mule accounts also came to light.Ghazipur SP Iraj Raja said on Saturday there had been an increasing number of complaints of duping of money by cyber fraudsters, who were operating a company ‘Crown Pay' and targeting people through Telegram messaging app to give lucrative offers for investment, trading, gaming and others. Apart from that, a large number of people were being motivated to open mule accounts to receive impressive amounts as commission for transactions done for their company through it, he said.After registering a case under sections of BNS and IT Act, SP formed a team for surveillance, evidence collection and detailed investigation and arrested three accused, including Rishiraj, a diploma engineer, Rohan Kumar, who worked on contract basis at DRDO Delhi and Sachin Singh, a post graduate in science. These three from Chandauli, Ghazipur and Sonbhadra were caught when they gathered near Lanka Maidan. A total of 19 SIM cards, 12 ATM cards, five passbooks of various banks, cheque book, five mobile phones, stamp and seal of a firm, GST and MSME-related documents were seized from them. During interrogation, the accused revealed their modus operand, said the SP, adding, members of the gang lured and coaxed bank account holders in various states to open mule accounts in their names and then route money earned from cyber crimes into those accounts. Each member of the gang had a separate role. They befriended any person in need of cash, before coaxing and luring him or her with the promise of funds. They would use the Aadhaar and PAN numbers and photo of the person in whose name the account was to be opened. Then they get an MSME (industry) certificate made for opening a current account and open a bank account after getting a GST number registered. Thereafter, the criminals sent all details of the opened bank accounts through Telegram, such as Internet banking user ID and password, registered email ID and registered mobile number. APK files were sent through Telegram and installed, so that all types of OTPs and other messages received on the registered mobile number were automatically received by the gang. The company operated on Telegram, and the cyber criminals associated with it carried out financial transactions through crypto trading platforms . Similarly, commission on money received in the sold accounts was pocketed by them in crypto currency. Every cyber criminal involved in the crime had an ID on a crypto trading platform.The SP said probe not only exposed 700 mule accounts opened by this gang and committing of fraud of Rs 67 crore but also earnings of the gang members. Sachin and Rohan confessed to having earned Rs 2.5 crore and Rs 1.75 crore, respectively from cyber crime, he said, adding, nearly 24 mule accounts were being used by the duo in the crime to route money earned from cyber crime. In view of the spread of roots of the gang across the country, the cyber crime headquarters Lucknow and Union ministry of home affairs were also alerted, while district's cyber crime cell is also thoroughly analysing the complaints and outcomes of investigation.