Two held in Delhi for cheating people after luring them with online sale offers

Delhi Police's IFSO unit has arrested two members of a cyber fraud gang for duping people across India by creating fake e-commerce websites with lucrative offers. The gang stole credit card details by tricking victims into clicking on payment links sent via WhatsApp. The gang operated through a fake call center in Uttar Pradesh. 40 SIM cards were seized, obtained with forged documents, and used in cyber crimes. The gang had at least seven members, with the others still at large.

The intelligence fusion and strategic operations (IFSO) unit of Delhi Police on Wednesday said that they have busted a gang of cyber frauds and arrested two of its members for allegedly duping scores of people from across India. They used to create fake websites of e-commerce platforms and post lucrative offers on grocery and other household products to lure unsuspecting buyers, said deputy commissioner of police (IFSO) Prashant Gautam.

Two held in Delhi for cheating people after luring them with online sale offers

Police recovered 40 SIM cards, which were procured from different states with the help of forged documents and used in cyber crimes. The two accused were arrested on October 5 and have been identified as Sonam Mandola, 21, and Juned Akhtar, 28, he added.

DCP Gautam said the arrests came following an investigation into a cheating case, recently registered at the special cell police station based on the complaint of a woman, who was duped of ₹98,000 by unidentified criminals. They stole her credit card details after tricking her with lucrative online offers on a website, he said.

The IFSO officers aware of the matter said that the syndicate had at least seven members and operated through a fake call center in Raj Nagar near Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. They carried on the cyber frauds for over a year using a unique modus operandi. The gang members used to steal details of credit cards, debit cards and unified payments interfaces (UPIs) of the victims after tricking them into visiting the fake websites. They frequently gained access to the cellphones of the victims after tricking them into clicking on payment links that they sent on their mobile phones through WhatsApp, they added.

The DCP said that the woman complainant had seen the shopping offers on social media and clicked on the “Shop Now” option. It took her to the fake website, where “cash on delivery” option was unavailable. So, she put her credit card details, and the payment was declined. A few minutes later, she received a call from a woman, who identified herself as an executive of the company’s customer care service. The caller sent the complainant a payment link on WhatsApp. As soon as she clicked on the link, her phone was remotely accessed by the frauds, who stole the one-time payment code and stole money from her credit card, he added.

“The probe team examined the money trail, call detail records, and other digital footprints of the frauds,” said an investigator declining to be named. Further probe led the investigators to the Raj Nagar call center from where they arrested Mandola on October 5. Her interrogation led to the arrest of Akhtar from Noida the same day. All the other members of the gang are absconding, the investigator said.

“Mandola was a tele-caller. She used to call victims and send them payment links,” he said.