Delhi Police busts 4 cybercrime syndicates, arrests 6

An interstate cyber-fraud syndicate involved in "digital arrest" scams was busted with the arrest of two accused persons, Shiva and Punit Kumar, also known as Sahil, from Faridabad, Haryana.

The press release stated that on July 8, 2024, a complaint was received regarding a fake WhatsApp video call from a person impersonating a police officer, who coerced her into transferring Rs 11,75,228 under the pretext of a "money laundering investigation."

Investigation revealed that both had opened and operated mule bank accounts used for transferring the cheated amount.

In another case, a fraud syndicate luring victims with fake "work-from-home" jobs was unearthed with the arrest of Ankit Sonkariya from Jaipur, Rajasthan.

One person reported being duped of Rs 2,74,520 after being promised money for reviewing places on Google Maps.

The investigation revealed that he was operating a bank account used for receiving and distributing the stolen funds on a commission basis.

In another incident of digital fraud, a racket using malicious APK files for bank fraud was dismantled with the arrest of Lavlesh Kumar (22 yrs) and Harbhajan (24 yrs), both from Aligarh, U.P.

Complainant Gurjit Singh was cheated of Rs 16,52,000 after installing a fake BSES meter verification APK file. The investigation revealed that Rs 6 lakh was routed through the mule accounts of the arrested accused.

The fraudsters were found to have opened multiple accounts in different banks for commission-based fraud operations.

Similarly, a cyber-stalker and extortionist was arrested for recording and leaking private videos of a woman to extort Rs 3 lakh.

Complainant reported that accused Gulpham Ansari (25 yrs) had created fake Instagram IDs and circulated her private videos to relatives and friends to threaten and blackmail her.

Based on technical surveillance, a raid was conducted and the accused from Ranhola Extension, Delhi, was arrested, the release said. (ANI)