Nineteen individuals were arrested across seven states in connection with 148 complaints filed on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP). The suspects allegedly scammed many victims, including Army and Air Force personnel in South West Delhi.
During the investigation, police recovered 42 mobile phones, 21 SIM cards, six ATM cards, two fake Aadhaar cards, and Rs 35 lakh. Additionally, transactions worth Rs 6.93 crore linked to these cases were frozen.
On July 11, an Army officer received a text message with a link to redeem 8,550 points in his Axis Bank account. The message, sent under the guise of “AX-NEVADA,” appeared legitimate. When the officer clicked the link, he was directed to a fake bank login page. After entering his credentials, he received a One-Time Password (OTP), and upon entering it, Rs 3.39 lakh was withdrawn from his account.
The officer’s complaint led to a case registration. Initial findings revealed that the money was transferred to a Drive Track Plus (DTP) card, used at petrol pumps in Haryana. The card was registered under the name of Sakil Khan from Madhya Pradesh, who claimed he had never applied for it.
Further investigation traced the fraudulent activities to Rajgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Birbhum, West Bengal. The money was withdrawn at petrol pumps using DTP cards rather than traditional bank accounts. Nine suspects were arrested in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar, with 24 smartphones and six ATM cards seized. A money trail of Rs 2.79 crore was uncovered.
Key operatives included Sanjay Kumbhkar, responsible for petrol pump withdrawals, and Sachin Pathak, who created the fake DTP cards. Santosh Kumar acted as a vital link between the phishing creators in West Bengal and the fraudsters in Madhya Pradesh, coordinating the creation of fake cards and facilitating money laundering.
In a separate incident, a Wing Commander was scammed out of Rs 2.29 lakh while attempting to rent out his 2 BHK apartment. The fraudster posed as an Army personnel named Deepak Pawar Bajrang, sending forged documents to gain the victim’s trust. Two suspects, Sahil (19) and Varis (20) from Alwar, Rajasthan, were arrested for targeting property owners on rental platforms.
Another Army personnel lost Rs 1.99 lakh after being deceived by a fraudster impersonating an Amazon representative. Kundan Kumar Das (27) from Deoghar, Jharkhand, was arrested, and a significant amount of assets linked to the scam was recovered.
Additionally, a complainant lost Rs 18 lakh in a stock market investment scam orchestrated by Chetan Naidu from Mumbai, who promised high returns on investments. Naidu and two other suspects from Bangalore were arrested for their roles in the scheme.
In a different case, social media influencer Khusi Saini (19) was arrested for creating a fake account in the influencer’s name to post inappropriate content. Furthermore, three suspects from Ajmer, Rajasthan, were arrested for defrauding a woman seeking online jobs, part of a larger network exploiting job seekers.
Overall, the police have successfully disrupted a significant cybercrime operation, highlighting the growing need for vigilance against such scams.