Mumbai: Insta-crypto and fake Prime scams busted by cops

A victim reported searching for an Amazon membership on Google when the fraudster called him. Representation Pic

The DB Marg Police apprehended two cybercriminals from different states following a two-month investigation. The suspects were involved in separate cyber fraud schemes, each using a unique modus operandi to target multiple victims. One suspect, arrested in West Bengal, defrauded a victim by using Instagram to convince them to invest in cryptocurrency. The other suspect, arrested in Jharkhand, impersonated an Amazon Prime officer and defrauded individuals by offering fake Amazon Prime memberships.

According to the DB Marg police, the accused, identified as Sayyed Mohammed Ibrarul Haque, 24, was arrested in Kolkata, West Bengal. Officials reported that Haque created an Instagram profile under the name "crypto-sultan-02," through which he would send friend requests to his targets and engage them in conversations about investing in cryptocurrency, promising them hefty returns. The police have discovered several such chats on Instagram.

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The case came to light when a victim approached the police, stating that Haque had similarly contacted him. After being convinced by the suspect, the victim was sent a QR code to invest. Enticed by the prospect of easy money, the victim transferred Rs 2,84,646 using the QR code. The incident occurred in June this year, but the victim did not receive the promised returns. Realising he had been duped, the victim reported the crime to the DB Marg police.

"Based on technical details, we were able to track the accused to Kolkata. A team was dispatched, and they successfully apprehended him in the Garden Reach area of the city," said Mohit Garg, DCP, Zone 02. Similarly, the DB Marg police arrested another suspect, 26-year-old Dhanjay Ansari Matabuddin Miya, from Jharkhand in connection with a fake Amazon membership scam. The victim in this case approached the police in July this year, claiming that he had been duped by an unknown person impersonating an Amazon officer.

According to the complainant, he was searching for Amazon membership information on Google when he received a call from someone claiming to be an Amazon officer. The suspect then defrauded him of Rs 83,541. "Various such frauds are happening, and citizens need to be very careful when calling random numbers found through search engines like Google. There are many fake profiles and numbers created that can lead to fraud. People should first verify if the website is genuine before calling customer support numbers," an officer said.