MUMBAI, Jan 2 (PTI): The cyber police in Mumbai have arrested four persons, who were part of a gang that allegedly duped people of crores through an online marketplace platform, an official said on Monday.
The North Region cyber police apprehended the four accused during raids conducted in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, the official said.
The police have recovered Rs 2 lakh cash, nine mobile phones, 32 ATM cards of various banks, cheque books and four SIM cards from the accused, he said.
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The fraud came to light when a victim approached the cyber police claiming that he had lost Rs 17.82 lakh and lodged a complaint in August last year, the official said.
A probe revealed that 835 mobile numbers and 38 IMEI numbers were used to dupe people, and a mobile number used in the crime had figured in 10 offences registered in Mumbai, involving fraud to the tune of Rs 53.74 lakh, he said.
The same mobile number had surfaced in 577 cheating complaints and 269 cases registered in Maharashtra, the official said.
According to the police, the complainant wanted to sell his old furniture and had posted photographs on an online marketplace application.
The accused person contacted the victim in response to the advertisement and asked him to send his bank details to make payment, and also sent a QR code scanner, the official said.
The accused then transferred Rs 9,000 to the victim. But after some time the fraudster asked him to return the money by transferring it to two bank accounts, he said.
In the process, the accused managed to gain access to the victim’s bank account and duped him for Rs 17.82 lakh, he said.
An FIR under section 419, 420 (cheating) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology (IT) Act was registered at the North Region cyber police station.
