The Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police has arrested three members of an organized gang involved in a sophisticated digital fraud scheme, where they impersonated officers from various law enforcement agencies such as the CBI, Narcotics Control Bureau, and the Crime Branch to “digitally arrest” their victims.
The accused have been identified as Shyam, Hasrhal, and Punit Sharma, all residents of Delhi. They were arrested in Lucknow on Tuesday after an in-depth investigation into their operations, which included tricking victims into believing they were under investigation and coercing them into sharing sensitive financial information.
According to a press statement, the arrests were made as part of an ongoing probe by the STF, which began after Dr. Ashok Solanki, a victim from Lucknow, reported that he had been scammed of Rs48 lakh. The gang had fooled him into thinking that he was being investigated, and they proceeded to “digitally arrest” him for two days.
During their interrogation, the accused disclosed that they had been recruited by a gang member operating on Telegram. They were trained to impersonate law enforcement officers and deceive victims into providing their banking details, including account numbers, ATM card details, and passwords.
The gang used a fraudulent app to intercept SMS alerts from victims’ phones, gaining unauthorized access to their bank accounts. They then transferred the stolen money into several corporate accounts, which were subsequently used to launder the funds into cash and cryptocurrency.