अमेरिका, कनाडा समेत 10 देशों के नागरिकों से साइबर ठगी करने वाला इंटरनेशनल गिरोह बेनकाब, 3 सॉफ्टवेयर इंजीनियर गिरफ्तार – bhiwadi international cyber fraud fake call center busted three software engineers arrested lclcn
In Bhiwadi, Rajasthan, the police has busted an organized gang committing cyber fraud at the international level. This gang was targeting citizens of more than 10 countries including America and Canada by operating a high-tech call center from a flat in a posh society of Bhiwadi. The accused, posing as officials of the FBI, US Justice Department and other government agencies, threatened people with digital arrest, fake arrest warrants and settlement notices.
Police have arrested three vicious accused in this case. The special thing is that all three are software engineers and were associated with this international cyber fraud network for a long time. Initial investigation has revealed that an amount of more than one lakh US dollars has been transferred to their accounts. The defrauded amount was brought to India through cryptocurrency.
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The investigation has also revealed that before making calls, the accused used to practice using a script prepared in English, so that no one could doubt their language and tone during the conversation. After this, fraud worth millions of dollars was carried out by calling foreign citizens and threatening them with legal action.
Posh society flat converted into hi-tech operation center
Superintendent of Police Brijesh Upadhyay said that the arrested accused have been identified as Mohit Gupta (35) resident of Dwarka, Delhi, Rahul Singh (34) resident of Karawal Nagar, Delhi and James Anil Mandal (35) resident of Kolkata, West Bengal.
7 laptops, 4 mobile phones and a Scorpio-N car, which were being used in cyber fraud, have been recovered from the possession of the accused. Investigation revealed that the accused used to show their location as foreign by using VPN, virtual number and high-speed internet.
According to the police, the accused had broken the walls of two flats located in Ashiana Town and converted them into a big operation center. Here the entire call center was being operated with the help of high-speed internet, router, UPS, headphones and several laptops.
Used to pose as FBI officer and threaten digital arrest
Investigation revealed that the accused used to call foreign citizens by posing as officials of America’s FBI, Justice Department, cyber security agencies or other government departments. During the conversation, he was told that his name had come up in child pornography, cyber hacking, credit card data leak or some serious crime.
After this, fake arrest warrants, settlement notices and other legal documents were sent to the victims through email and online medium. The accused used to extort huge amounts of money from people by giving them the fear of being in “digital arrest”. The biggest targets of the gang were senior citizens and people less familiar with technical information.
During investigation, an estimate of cyber fraud of around one lakh US dollars i.e. around Rs 96 lakh has come to light. The police is busy collecting digital and banking evidence related to this amount.
Used to ask for money from cryptocurrency, used to practice with English script
According to the police, the accused used to convert fraudulently obtained foreign currency into cryptocurrency online. After this, the money was brought to India through different accounts and converted into Indian currency. VPNs, virtual foreign numbers and many technical applications were used to hide one’s identity.
The investigation also revealed that the data present in the computers and mobiles of the accused was deleted and was recovered only when required. For every type of fraud, different English scripts were kept ready in the desktop and notepad. Before making calls, the accused used to practice these scripts, so that they could prove themselves to be real officers.
A case has been registered against the accused in Bhiwadi police station under various sections of the Indian Justice Code (BNS) and sections 66C and 66D of the IT Act. The police are now investigating the criminal records of the accused and are also investigating who else is associated with this gang.
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