Faridabad police arrest five for running job racket

According to Cyber Cell officers, the suspects purchased data of registered mobile phone users from different websites last year. They then prepared fake lucrative MNC job offers, sent victims signed appointment letters, and demanded money for processing their appointments as well as a commission

Faridabad police on Sunday arrested five persons for allegedly running a job racket offering positions in multinational companies (MNCs). The gang also allegedly lured jobless men into turning phone sex operators by promising them at least ₹2 lakh a month, said police.

Ashraf and Furkan Ali were arrested from Agra and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh on Sunday. The other three were arrested later from Faridabad and Delhi. (Sourced)

According to Cyber Cell officers, the suspects purchased data of registered mobile phone users from different websites last year. They then prepared fake lucrative MNC job offers, sent victims signed appointment letters, and demanded money for processing their appointments as well as a commission.

Basant Kumar, an inspector at Cyber Cell police station, said that they received a complaint from a Sector 21 resident of Faridabad who was duped of ₹3 lakh on the pretext of getting a job in a company in Gurugram. “After paying the amount, the man was told he did not get the job. Instead, however, he was told he could make much more money as a phone sex operator. He asked for his money back, following which they blocked his number,” he said.

The man kept trying to get his money back for three days and when he couldn’t, he approached the police and handed over the mobile phone numbers of the persons who contacted him.

Kumar said during the investigation, the police traced the mobile numbers and their locations and arrested five members of the gang.

The suspects were identified as Younis Khan, Shahid, Mamuddin, Furkan Ali, and Ashraf. Police said Khan was allegedly the mastermind of the racket and ran an illegal call centre in Delhi’s Govindpuri. He allegedly hired Shahid, a resident of Agra, who, along with Mamuddin, also a resident of Agra, and Ashraf, a resident of Zakir Nagar, opened several bank accounts to receive money from victims and avoid being traced, said police.

Ali, also a resident of Delhi, would allegedly buy SIM cards using forged documents, using which the gang members contacted their victims.

Police said Khan was arrested from Delhi, from Ashraf and Ali from Agra and Mathura in Uttar Pradesh respectively, and Shahid and Mamuddin from Faridabad in Haryana.

Modus operandi

Kumar said the suspects would place advertisements on social media and send messages to people offering them lucrative amounts to work from home. Once the victims fell for it, they would stage a round of mock interviews. Police said they would ask people to pay a processing fee, a joining fee, and a commission after sending them fake appointment letters.

They would then either block their numbers or offer them jobs as phone sex operators. Police said they had hired 13 phone sex operators to work at Khan’s call centre through this racket.

Police said the data recovered from the men’s possession revealed that they had duped 60 people from Delhi, Gurugram, Faridabad, Agra, Mathura, and Tamil Nadu of ₹70 lakh. The amount was transferred to 11 bank accounts they owned, which have now been seized by the police.

More than 300 SIM cards, laptops, 12 mobile phones and ₹1.80 lakh have been recovered from the men, said police.

Kumar said they contacted all the victims and have informed them of the arrests so that they can contact their nearest police stations and lodge complaints against them.