Mumbai Police bust multi-state cyber fraud network, arrest six

The MRA Marg Police busted a widespread network of cyber criminals operating across multiple states and arrested six persons from areas in Mumbai Bihar and Jharkhandrsquos Jamtara exposing a wellorganised syndicate involved in digital financial fraudAccording to Mumbai Police sources the gang functioned in a highly structured manner operating in three layersFirst chainThe gang members used forged Aadhaar and PAN cards to open bank accounts in different banks while living in various cities These accounts were then sold for thousands of rupees each to the second chainmdash operatives based in Gaya BiharSecond chainThese members acted as intermediaries supplying the bank accounts to cybercriminals operating out of Jamtara In return they received a 30 per cent commission on the fraudulent money deposited into these accountsThird chainBased in Jamtara these cyber fraudsters targeted victims by impersonating representatives of Amazon Flipkart Myntra and other ecommerce platforms They also duped people with fake loan offers under the PM Kisan Yojana convincing them to share sensitive financial details which were then used to siphon off fundsThe cyber fraud racket was discovered in March when MRA Marg Police discovered suspicious activity involving several individuals living in dormitories under fake identitiesThe bustA detailed investigation was launched under the guidance of DCP Pravin Mundhe Zone 1 and acting on a tipoff police raided a dormitory and apprehended three individuals identified as Umeshkumar Paswan 32 Amankumar Dilip Parsad 23 and Rahul Kumar Verma 30 During interrogation it was revealed that all three were originally from Bihar and were involved in the first chain of the fraud networkTheir primary role was to open fake bank accounts using forged identity documents created through a mobile app called lsquoPrint Portalrsquo These fake accounts were later used in various cyber fraud schemesldquoDuring interrogation it was revealed that the accused used to search for nationalised banks on Google obtain the bankrsquos address and nearby locality details and then forged Aadhaar and PAN cards by altering names and photos using the lsquoPrint Portalrsquo app These fake documents were used to open bank accountsrdquo said an officerThe accused would then sell these accounts to persons identified as Mukesh Kumar alias Chandu Chandravanshi and Anees alias Raj Kumar Singh both residents of Gaya Bihar Based on the information provided by the arrested trio police nabbed Kumar and Singh in Gaya on March 12Further investigation led to the third chain of the racket operating from Jamtara where they arrested Abdullah Ansari 34 on March 22Police said that the members of the first chain received Rs 20000 to Rs 25000 for each fake bank account they createdThe second chain sold these accounts to the third chain in Jamtara earning a 30 per cent commission on the fraudulently deposited money and the third chain which executed the frauds by calling victims under pretenses kept the remaining 70 per cent which was then distributed among other gang membersldquoThe gang was sophisticated organised and wellconnected across states More arrests are likely as the investigation continuesrdquo added a senior police officeratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params