Work From Home Scam: Rs 158 Crore Busted By Bengaluru Police, Arrests 9 (image-pixabay)
The Central Crime Branch (CCB) of the Bengaluru city police arrested 9 members of the cybercriminal network for defrauding people by offering part-time work-from-home jobs. The arrested members have allegedly swindled a staggering Rs 158 crore.
The arrest was made in Karnataka, the seventh inter-state raid by the bank fraud team in the past three weeks, covering Delhi, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Bengal.
The arrest came after six months of meticulous investigation. The probe has revealed that the gang was involved in 2,143 cyber frauds across the country. The police successfully froze Rs 62 lakh in 30 mule accounts opened by the fraudster, mainly in Hyderabad.
Apart from freezing the bank accounts, the police also seized 11 cell phones, two laptops, and checkbooks from different accounts.
According to Central Crime Branch (CCB) officials, among those arrested are Amir Sohail and Inayat Khan from Bengaluru, Syed Abbas Ali, Nayaz, and Adil from Hyderabad, Mithun Manish Shah, Naina Raj, Satish, and Mihir Shashikanth Shah from Mumbai, reports Indian express.
Bengaluru city police commissioner B Dayananda said that the suspects played various roles within the operation, ranging from the establishment of mule accounts to their operation and engagement with potential targets. But he added that the mastermind behind this intricate network was not yet identified.
Under the guise of providing easy money from home, the suspects used fake numbers to communicate with the victims using platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram. When the victims were convinced to invest, they directed them to complete simple tasks such as liking YouTube videos or installing apps, promising monetary rewards upon completion.
While targets noticed their digital wallets accumulating funds at various levels. However, complications arose when they tried to withdraw the money. Only then did the victims realize that the digital accounts were simulated, and thus they filed a police complaint.
The investigation was initiated following a complaint filed by Vidyaranyapura resident who lost Rs 18.5 lakh which led CCB to freeze Rs 62.8 lakh across 30 bank accounts.
An examination of their accounts on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) revealed their involvement in 2,143 cybercrime cases filed across 28 states. Of these, 265 cases were registered across various Karnataka districts, with Bengaluru alone accounting for 135 in 14 police stations.
