Varanasi: The district cyber police in Varanasi have arrested the mastermind behind an international cyber fraud operation, linked to a Chinese gang, on charges of 'digitally house arresting' people and duping lakhs of rupees from them.
The accused, identified as Nizam Ahmed, happens to be a resident of Bahraich district in Uttar Pradesh. Nizam was leading the crime syndicate that targeted victims by posing as officials from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The gang allegedly used fake identities and sophisticated tools to digitally arrest victims, forcing them to transfer money under false pretense.
The matter came to light when Anuj Kumar Yadav, a resident of Varanasi’s Sarnath area, filed a police complaint alleging that fraudsters had digitally arrested him by posing as fake TRAI officers. The fraudsters allegedly duped him of Rs 98 lakh.
So far, during the course of investigation, 11 people have been arrested in connection with the racket.
Additional DCP Shruti Srivastava stated that members of the gang used to call victims, claiming that fake SIM cards have been issued in their names and are being used to carry out illegal activities. Subsequently, victims were forced to transfer money to secure their release from the so-called 'digital arrest'.
ADCP Srivastava further revealed that the gang relied on apps such as Dragon SMS and services like Elastic Compute Service (ECS) and elastic IP address (EIP) to carry out such fraudulent activities. The criminals used a multi-layered network of agents to open fake bank accounts and set up internet banking channels. ADCP also explained how these fraudsters used virtual tools to erase digital footprints.
A team led by Police Commissioner Mohit Agarwal and DCP Crime Pramod Kumar arrested the mastermind Nizam Ahmed and seized cash and mobile phones from his possession. It was revealed that he kept agents under him in his network, who helped in opening fake bank accounts and setting up internet banking. Authorities have expedited probe to trace the gang’s connections to foreign accomplices, and bust the entire network.
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