A major cybercrime gang involved in a work-from-home scam has been busted, with 12 individuals arrested, including the main accused, Harshvardhan Ojha (25), a resident of Uttar Pradesh. The gang primarily operated in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, duping several people, including a housewife, out of lakhs of rupees.
The scam was first reported in January when a housewife lodged a complaint at Adugodi Police Station. She claimed that she had been duped of ₹5 lakh under the pretext of a work-from-home job. According to the woman’s statement, the scammers had told her that she needed to deposit money to improve her credit score before she could receive payment for her work. Trusting the fraudsters, she transferred money in multiple installments.
During the investigation, the police identified a bank account linked to the scam. This led to the arrest of Sonu (27), a resident of Navi Mumbai, who was found to have opened multiple bank accounts in the names of contract laborers. Sonu used to send the passbooks, ATM cards, and SIM cards of these accounts to his gang members in Uttar Pradesh. For every account, he would receive a commission of Rs1,500, while for accounts in national banks, he would earn Rs18,000 to Rs20,000.
Harshvardhan Ojha, the main accused, was arrested alongside Sonu. The police also arrested 10 other gang members from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, who were involved in running the fraudulent network.
During a raid, the police seized:
400 SIM cards
140 ATM cards
17 cheque books
27 mobile phones
22 bank passbooks
One expense and income account register
₹15,000 in cash
The police are continuing their investigation into the scam, which affected several victims. The arrested individuals have been remanded into custody as further probes into the cybercrime racket continue.
