Phoney loans, dummy bank accounts:32 held in Agra for Rs 300 cr cyberfraud
Agra, Dec. 16 -- Police here have arrested 32 individuals following scores of cyberfraud complaints, claiming losses of approximately Rs 300 crore, were filed on an online portal of the central government, they said.
The accused are allegedly members of three gangs that duped people using various methods, including MGNREGA scams, 'digital arrests', and promises of easy loans. Officials said a gang headed by one Ravi Rathore deposited proceeds from crimes into dummy bank accounts and paid monthly commissions to their holders.
Three FIRs were registered in connection with the cyberfraud at three police stations of Agra on the basis of over 600 complaints filed with the National Crime Records Bureau's National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal since June of this year, additional deputy commissioner of police (Cyber Crime) Aditya Singh told media persons here on Sunday evening.
"Each of these gangs has a separate modus operandi. One cheats their victims in the name of MGNREGA. The other commits cybercrime in the name of loans from application MobiKwik," said Singh.
The maximum of 24 arrests were made by Tajganj police in Agra.
"On June 15, we were informed by the portal that a complainant, upon someone's request, withdrew Rs 36,000 from an ATM and gave the sum to him. He later found out that his bank account had been frozen. When he contacted his bank, he was told that the Rs 36,000 were receipts from a cybercrime," the cop added.
"During investigation, one of the accused was identified as one Rishi from Kirawali tehsil in Agra, against whom 54 complaints were filed. Further investigation revealed his links with one Nitin Bhagor, who, it turned out, was involved in the ATM fraud."
"Three gang members were arrested on December 13 from near a hotel in Agra. Their arrest led to the capture of 21 more in a case registered under Sections 112(2)/338/336/340(2) (primarily related to organised crime, forgery, and using forged documents) of the BNS and 66 of IT Act, at the Tajganj police station," added Singh.
The accused were involved in cyberfraud through 'digital arrest', cryptocurrency, sending spam links on WhatsApp and placing advertisements on Google, he added.
"One of the gangs paid a percentage of the amount deposited in bank accounts to their holders on a monthly basis. The gang is headed by Ravi Rathore and Nitin Kumar, who have accounts in Dubai. Nitin owns a bogus company by the name of Medlare Global Excellence in Dubai," officials added.
Also, the role of several Jan Seva Kendra officials is suspected as they allegedly provided the gangs the beneficiaries' Aadhaar details, which were used to open the bank accounts.
Devesh Rana and Damodar Singh, who were arrested by Kirawali police, allegedly deposited Rs 5 lakh into an account and told the holder that this was from the government's MGNREGA scheme. However, the account was later frozen after the amount was withdrawn.
Jagdishpura police arrested six people who allegedly promised easy access to loans .
"A complainant was asked to download an app and deposit Rs 5,000 after getting an OTP. The complainant was assured of a loan of Rs 50,000. Police secured the number from which the offer was received. The number was involved in several cybercrimes in Punjab, Delhi and Gujarat. Six people were arrested by police," the ADCP added....
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