Studied till 5th, became the mastermind of crypto cyber fraud at the age of 17, STF caught him with property worth crores

from Bihar Purnia A shocking case of cyber crime has come to light from the district. A 17-year-old minor, who was operating an international level cyber fraud network through cryptocurrency while sitting in a small village, became the owner of property worth crores by keeping himself behind the scenes.

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When the cyber unit of the State Task Force (STF) caught this alleged mastermind, even the investigating agencies were surprised. A huge amount of cryptocurrency, cash and expensive electronic gadgets were recovered from the accused, which made it clear how deeply this game of cyber crime has spread.

Crypto fraud network was running from the village

This case pertains to Srinagar Sahni Tola of Dimia Chhatarjan Panchayat located in East Block of Purnia district. Sitting here, the accused was operating the cyber fraud network for the last three years. Transactions in this network were not done in rupees, but entirely through cryptocurrency. In the STF raid, cryptocurrency worth about Rs 2 crore, Rs 2.80 lakh in cash, 9 mobile phones, laptops and tablets of Apple company were recovered from the accused.

Secret information received from CERT-IN, STF took action

Additional Superintendent of Police Alok Ranjan told in the press conference on Tuesday that an organization named CERT-IN in the country monitors sensitive activities related to the cyber world. Through this organization, the police headquarters had received secret information about this entire matter, on the basis of which action was taken and the accused was arrested. Investigation revealed that by entering the mobile number of any person on a website named proxyarth.org, his personal data became public. This included mobile numbers along with alternative numbers and other sensitive information, which comes under the category of serious breach of privacy.

Data leaked from social media

Police investigation also revealed that personal information of common people was collected through social media and later it was bought and sold illegally. This cyber crime is a direct violation of privacy and data security laws. During interrogation, the accused admitted that he was promoting various gaming apps through his Telegram channel since the year 2022. These included many other apps including the Tiranga app banned in India. He had about 10 lakh followers on Instagram. The amount received from the promotion was directly converted into cryptocurrency. Later this money was withdrawn through SIM cards and bank accounts taken in the name of friends.

Cryptocurrency worth $1.90 lakh recovered

During the investigation, cryptocurrency worth 1 lakh 90 thousand US dollars was found from the accused, whose value in Indian currency is estimated to be around Rs 2 crore. The investigation into where and from which sources this cryptocurrency came from is still going on. At present the accused has been arrested and sent to judicial custody.

Journey from poverty to sudden riches

The accused’s father Deepak Mandal is a mason by profession. The financial constraints were so severe that he could not complete the education of his two sons even till matriculation. But in the last two years the life of the family changed completely. A permanent house was built, the lifestyle changed and suspicious people started moving in luxury vehicles in the village. When the villagers raised questions, the accused claimed that he had earned crores of rupees by winning in Dream 11.