The Haryana Police have identified over 28,000 cases related to cyber fraudsters throughout the nation and pan-India cyber scams totalling INR 100 crore. Police seized 166 false Aadhar cards, 5 PAN cards, 99 SIM cards, 66 cellphones, 128 ATM cards, 5 POS devices, and 3 PCs during raids. Hackers primarily used Common Service Centres for cash withdrawals, but some also made use of ATMs in neighbouring villages.
The SP Nuh, Varun Singhla, said, “People throughout the nation were the target of these scammers who were able to defraud people using fraudulent SIM, Aadhaar cards, etc. and then proceeded to submit money in false bank accounts to evade arrest. Following the arrest of the accused, the SP said that almost 28,000 cyber fraud instances had been located nationwide.
The police are pursuing leads from cybercriminals detained in this operation, and more raids are being conducted to apprehend those who have fled their communities. 40 cyber specialists have been dispatched by the DGP, and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Unit has been contacted for assistance.
Multiple States targeted under cyber fraud
SP Singla said that cyber criminals have duped 28,000 innocent people at a cost of over Rs. 100 crore across most of the states and union territories throughout the country. 1,346 FIRs have been filed against these cybercriminals, as well as 219 public and private bank accounts and 140 UPI accounts. At least 347 SIM cards have also been discovered from telecom firms’ circles in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, the North Eastern States, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. This has led to 1,346 FIRs being filed against these cybercriminals.
The police officer claimed that over the course of the inquiry, it was discovered that the district of Bharatpur in Rajasthan was primarily responsible for the origin of bogus SIM cards and bank accounts.
The SP stated that 250 wanted cybercriminals who were co-accused with the cybercriminals seized in 16 cases reported in Nuh district have also been identified; of these, 20 belong to Rajasthan, 19 are from Uttar Pradesh, and 211 are from Haryana. The cybercriminals, who range in age from 18 to 35, have admitted that they often operated in teams of three to four people.
Activities conducted to commit cyber fraud
The most important details are that only a small number of people in a village provided fake SIM cards, cellphones, bank accounts, cash withdrawals, and technical services in exchange for commission fees ranging from 5% to 50% of the fraudulent activity amount. Hackers primarily used Common Service Centres for cash withdrawals, but some also used ATMs placed around various communities.
Singla alleged that scammers lured victims with promises of sales on items like bikes, vehicles, and mobile phones by posting deceptive ads on Facebook Bazaar and OLX. They used to post advertisements on social media sites offering opportunities to work from home, primarily packaging Natraj pencils, claiming an income of Rs. 30,000 per month and defrauding trusting individuals under the guise of the cost of registration, supplies for packing, and transportation fees.
Sextortion also a part of their cyber fraud
Cybercriminals were deceiving victims through sextortion crimes by fabricating alluring profiles on social media sites and enticing them to join a video chat. They also checked random number sequences in UPI applications to find the identities of victims who had been registered against those numbers.
The scammers pretended to be friends or family of the victims and asked them to make a payment request on their behalf under one or more pretexts. The police official claimed that naive people had been defrauded of significant quantities of money under the guise of purchasing rare coins.