Three men have been arrested in connection with a share investment fraud that resulted in a loss of Rs 22.3 lakh for a 68-year-old resident of Andheri. The arrests were made following a technical analysis conducted by the Cyber Crime Division, led by DCP Bajrang Bansode. The victim reported the fraud in April, prompting the investigation that led to the identification and apprehension of the suspects.
One of the arrested accused, Pramod Kumar (34), a college dropout from Delhi, used at least 6,000 SIM cards and six-digit OTPs to activate WhatsApp accounts, charging fraudsters amounts ranging from Rs 12,500 to Rs 2,500 per OTP in cryptocurrency , which he got converted from private money exchanges into cash or transferred to his wallets, said cyber police. Kumar told police that he splurged Rs 69 lakh on women and trips to Goa. The other two arrested accused, Dharmendra Gupta (43) and Rajeev Gupta (51), both from Uttar Pradesh, allegedly supplied fake SIM cards to Kumar, who used them to create WhatsApp accounts and sent activation OTPs to handlers in Cambodia. DCP (Cyber) Bajrang Bansode said the three men were arrested through technical analysis after a 68-year-old Andheri resident reported losing Rs 22.3 lakh in a share investment fraud in April. Police seized 100 mobile phones, 669 SIM cards, a computer, two chequebooks and a passbook from his residence.
Senior police inspector Sandeep Patil said the fraudsters promised high share-market returns, but later demanded more money when he sought to withdraw his investment and purported profit. Assistant police inspector Nitin Gachhe said Kumar was involved in “OTP farming”, generating OTPs from fake SIM cards using basic mobile phones and selling them to handlers in Cambodia and elsewhere through Telegram. Mumbai: Cyber police have arrested three men for allegedly supplying SIM cards and one-time passwords (OTPs) to Cambodia-based cybercriminals running investment frauds targeting Indians through Telegram groups. The complainant had been added to a Telegram group and contacted on WhatsApp by people impersonating representatives of a reputed investment company. Kumar was at his Delhi residence when he nabbed. Payments were received in cryptocurrency and converted into Indian currency through private money exchangers. Kumar allegedly maintained a rate card for SIM details and OTPs.