New Delhi: A routine online shopping order for a kurti worth Rs 799 led Delhi Police to unearth an alleged cyber fraud syndicate that channelled credit transactions worth over Rs 30 crore through a network of bank accounts. Seven people have been arrested.
The probe began after a student of Delhi University’s Ramjas College was allegedly cheated of Rs 6,450 by an online seller who repeatedly demanded payments on the pretext of facilitating a parcel delivery. Following an analysis of nearly 200 mobile numbers and IMEIs, police traced the money trail to Greater Noida and Kanpur. Police have linked 27 cyber fraud complaints from different states to the network. Sustained surveillance led to coordinated raids in Greater Noida on Oct 16, resulting in the arrest of Aditya Mishra (23), Ayush Verma (22), Abhishek Pal (23), Himanshu Rana (29), Rahul Kumar (30) and Gaurav Pandey (24). Udit Pratap Singh Bhadauriya (22) was arrested in Kanpur on Oct 21. Police seized 20 mobile phones, 45 SIM cards, 39 point-of-sale machines, 33 debit cards, 28 cheque books, 15 scanners and two laptops, besides banking documents.
The parcel never arrived and no money was refunded, police said. Police said searches at rented premises in Greater Noida led them to three suspected firms. Police said the two communicated through WhatsApp numbers bearing the US country code.
Investigators claimed that the firms were used to open bank accounts that were subsequently supplied to cyber fraudsters. Pandey allegedly operated a bank account supply network and provided the accounts to individuals identified as Maxwell and Solitaire on a commission basis. The accounts were allegedly used to receive and route money obtained through cyber fraud.