The Agra Police, in a joint operation with cyber crime authorities, arrested five individuals involved in a multi-national cyber fraud scheme. The accused, operating out of Delhi, had been luring unsuspecting victims into fake IPO investments through a WhatsApp group, using third-party links to download fraudulent apps.
The arrested men were identified as Prem Saud (also known as Prem Bahadur Saud) from Nepal, residing in Delhi’s Amar Colony; Ravi Kumar Suryavanshi from Rohini, Delhi; Akbar (Allauddin) from Muzaffarpur, Bihar; Imran from Ghaziabad; and Athani from Farukkhabad. They have been booked under various sections of the law related to cyber fraud and money laundering.
The scam came to light after an Agra resident filed a complaint on October 4. The victim was invited to join a WhatsApp group, where the fraudsters pitched an investment opportunity in a supposed IPO. The victim was directed to download a suspicious app via a third-party link, as the app was not available on Google Play Store.
After completing the Know Your Customer (KYC) process and logging into the app, the victim was asked to deposit Rs18.5 lakh into several bank accounts. However, when the victim tried to withdraw the funds, he realized he had been scammed, and when he requested his money back, he was promptly removed from the group.
Upon receiving the complaint, Agra Cyber Police launched an investigation that led to the arrest of the accused. During interrogation, it was discovered that the gang had connections with cyber criminals operating out of Cambodia, Laos, Hong Kong, and Vietnam. These international fraudsters provided the accused with Indian bank account details and SIM cards for their fraudulent operations.
The police also seized mobile phones and laptops from the suspects. In addition, a massive bank account network was uncovered, involving more than 85 lakh bank accounts used for fraudulent transactions.
As a result of a court order, the victim from Agra was able to recover Rs13 lakh out of the Rs18.5 lakh he had lost. The police are now working to track other victims and continue their investigation into the international network involved in the scam.