Gurugram police form SIT to probe ₹41 crore cyber fraud in e-wallet firm

Flaw let payments process without balance; police say 125 accounts got ₹15 lakh each. SIT set up to recover funds and identify perpetrators.

A 20-member special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to probe the ₹41 crore cyber fraud targeting an e-wallet firm in the city, police officials said on Wednesday. The SIT, the first of its kind in a cybercrime case here, will be headed by ACP (cybercrime) Priyanshu Dewan and include at least 20 investigating officers, officials added.

First SIT for a cybercrime case here; breach let users transfer funds without balance or PIN, with ₹8 crore already frozen across accounts. (moo - stock.adobe.com)

The fraud was detected just weeks before the firm’s annual general meeting. A security breach in its software enabled customers to transfer any amount into bank accounts or make payments even without sufficient balance. Transactions were also processed even after entering incorrect PINs, officials said.

Police said the total syphoned amount has risen to ₹41 crore from the initial estimate of ₹40.22 crore. A senior police officer said, “The amount was remitted to 2,810 bank accounts across the country. In 1,100 accounts, ₹1 lakh each was transferred, while 125 accounts received ₹15 lakh each. Other accounts were credited with different amounts. Looking at the situation, a large team was required to prompt investigation.”

Investigators are gathering data from the firm, including login details and IP addresses, to identify anomalies. “The priority is to recover as much money as we can which was lost from the firm’s account used to maintain the e-wallet of 2.5 lakh users across the country. We have already put ₹8 crore on hold in various accounts,” the officer said.

On Monday, police arrested one suspect from Palwal and five from Nuh for syphoning off ₹2.5 crore into their bank accounts by exploiting the breach. Sandeep Turan, public relations officer of Gurugram police, said more arrests are likely. The firm had registered an FIR at Sector-53 police station on Saturday.