City police have intensified their crackdown on cyber fraud by arresting three more members of an interstate scam syndicate from Bihar, a day after detaining 12 others. With the latest arrests, the total number of accused has risen to 15, while investigations suggest more accomplices may still be at large.
The newly arrested individuals — Chandan Kumar (40), Pankaj Kumar (38), and Rishi Kumar (27) — are residents of Katrisarai block in Nalanda district, Bihar. According to police, the gang allegedly earned Rs 20–25 lakh every month by cheating people across several states through fake gift vouchers, lottery schemes, and instant loan scams.
Investigators revealed that the accused operated a makeshift call centre from a residence in Bhubaneswar belonging to Debasis Tripathy, one of the earlier arrested members. The syndicate included operatives from Bihar and Kerala, who targeted victims in their home states while speaking local languages to gain credibility.
Unlike high-profile cyber scams involving large investments, this gang focused on smaller fraud amounts of Rs 10,000–15,000, making the crimes harder to detect.
“Many victims did not report the fraud due to the relatively small amounts involved,” said DCP Jagmohan Meena, adding that some complaints were not pursued urgently by local police.
To evade detection, the gang placed calls from Bhubaneswar while directing payments into mule bank accounts in Bihar. Police are now coordinating with authorities in Bihar and Kerala to uncover the full network.
Though active since last year, the case saw a breakthrough after critical technical inputs from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, which helped trace transaction patterns and identify suspects.
Further investigations revealed that the gang obtained customer data through agents linked to e-commerce platforms. Victims were sent courier packages containing fake scratch cards and gift vouchers, claiming prize winnings of Rs 10–15 lakh. When victims called the provided numbers, they were asked to pay around 10% of the prize value as a processing fee, leading many to lose money.
The syndicate also promoted fraudulent instant loans and lottery schemes on social media, targeting vulnerable users and expanding its reach. Police officials believe more arrests are likely as the probe continues.
