Police in Bolangir district busted an inter-state crypto-trading fraud gang on Sunday, arresting four cyber criminals identified as Vikash Pareek (31), Pawan Singh (30), Vijay Rai Sharma (33), and Harshit Chauhan (21), all hailing from Rajasthan. Authorities also seized five mobile phones and other incriminating materials during the operation.
The case, reported at the Cyber Police Station in Bolangir, involves a cheating scheme that defrauded victims of Rs76 lakhs by impersonating the GBE Crypto Trading Company through platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, and various social media sites.
Investigations revealed that the accused had conspired to defraud victims using mobile applications and communications through Telegram and WhatsApp. They sent messages promoting fake crypto trading applications, utilizing virtual mobile numbers and VPN services to mask their identities.
Additionally, some members of the gang hacked into other users’ WhatsApp accounts, further aiding their fraudulent activities. They created fake domains and applications for online crypto trading, distributing them via Telegram and WhatsApp to the general public. Through their collective efforts, they arranged corporate and savings accounts, debit cards, physical SIM cards, and online banking credentials from associates in exchange for financial compensation.
During the scheme, the accused exploited OTP-sharing applications to access victims’ online banking facilities. They maintained multiple Telegram and WhatsApp groups for discussions and coordination related to their fraudulent operations.
Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended the four suspects from Rajasthan and seized the mobile phones used in the commission of the crime. Notably, last month, Pawan and Vikash were arrested by Haryana police for similar fraudulent activities.
Authorities have also frozen more than 60 bank accounts belonging to the accused and their associates, where suspected transactions occurred, resulting in over Rs85 lakhs in bank balances being frozen.