Varanasi: Chandauli police on Wednesday busted an international cyber fraud racket operating from a building in Kailashpuri, Mughalsarai, and arrested five people for allegedly duping foreign citizens, particularly Japanese nationals, on the pretext of resolving computer-related issues and fraudulently transferring money from their bank accounts after gaining remote access to their systems.
The arrested accused were identified as Raunak Singh (32) of Nalanda district in Bihar; Roshan Kumar (21); Aman Kumar (23); and Vikas Vaibhav (25), all residents of Gaya district in Bihar; and Ankit Kumar (25) of Nawada district in Bihar. They allegedly used the Zoiper 5 app to contact Japanese citizens and asked them to open a particular website and enter a six-digit PIN to resolve their query. ASP Vikram Dahiya said around ₹9 lakh in two bank accounts belonging to one of the accused, Raunak Singh, had been frozen.
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Chandauli ASP (Sadar) Vikram Dahiya said the accused had learnt Japanese in Nalanda and Gaya to specifically target elderly Japanese citizens with substantial savings in their bank accounts. Police said Chinese members of the gang allegedly provided mule bank accounts for transferring the defrauded money. Police said the gang’s main handler fled shortly before the raid. The accused had also allegedly prepared forged Aadhaar cards using Varanasi addresses to conceal their identities, police said.
Once the PIN was entered, the accused allegedly gained remote access to the victims’ screens, accessed their banking applications and fraudulently transferred money. Investigators also found that the victims’ banking details were allegedly shared through WhatsApp groups operated using virtual numbers. He allegedly operated the call centre and converted Japanese currency into Indian rupees through hawala channels. A case was subsequently registered at Mughalsarai police station under relevant sections. He added that efforts were underway to nab the main accused. Download the TOI App.