As part of its ongoing campaign against cybercrime, Noida Police has busted a major gang and arrested seven accused. This gang opened bank accounts in the names of fake companies and sold them to cyber criminals. These accounts were used to transfer money defrauded from people under the guise of digital arrest, fake trading, and investment schemes. On July 29th, Phase-3 police, acting on beat policing and confidential information, arrested Ajab Singh, Pradeep, Gulab Singh Lodhi, Kaushal, Sachin, Jinendra Singh, and Priyanka. Police recovered seven mobile phones, a check book, a stamp, and four letterheads from the accused.
The network was operated through WhatsApp and Telegram.
Police investigations revealed that the accused, after opening bank accounts in the names of fake companies, kept in touch with cybercriminals through WhatsApp and Telegram groups. They kept the SIM cards of the mobile numbers linked to the bank accounts with them and installed an APK file called “Ding SMS” on their mobile phones. This app delivered OTPs and SMS messages related to their bank accounts to their mobile phones, allowing cybercriminals to easily manipulate the funds deposited into their accounts.
74 cyber complaints reveal secrets of a large network
During the investigation, transactions worth lakhs of rupees were discovered in these bank accounts. According to the police, 74 cyber fraud complaints have been filed against these accounts across the country. This raises suspicions that the gang has a large network and links to cyber criminals operating in several states.
Commission was received on the amount of fraud
During interrogation, the accused admitted that they opened bank accounts in people’s names and sold them to cyber criminals. In return, they received a fixed percentage of the defrauded funds as commission, which the accused then split among themselves. The arrested accused include residents of Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, and Agra.
Case registered under IT Act, investigation underway
Noida Police have registered a case against all the accused under Section 66D of the IT Act. Police are now conducting a thorough investigation into bank accounts, financial transactions, mobile phones, and other digital evidence. They are also investigating how many people this gang has defrauded so far and the cybercriminals in which states they have connections with.