Inter-state phone hackers gang busted, eight arrested

They hacked the phones of several people, accessed their bank details, used OTPs to buy smartphones from e-commerce platforms and sold them for profits, the police said

MUMBAI: The main accused of an inter-state cyber fraud racket was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly hacking the mobile phones of several people and misappropriating funds from their bank accounts. They hacked the phones of several people, accessed their bank details, used OTPs to buy smartphones from e-commerce platforms and sold them for profits, the police said.

Inter-state phone hackers gang busted, eight arrested

According to the police, the fraud came to light a few days ago when they caught Rinkukumar Shriramjilal Bairwa, a resident of Rajasthan, with 11 high-end mobile phones, acting on a tip-off. Upon questioning, he revealed that he had hacked the mobile phones of several people, obtained their banking details, and purchased mobile phones worth ₹4.77 lakh from an e-commerce platform. Subsequently, the police registered a case against him.

During interrogation, Bairwa told the police that he was a part of a racket that sent fraudulent links to phones, which, after being opened, gave complete access to the fraudsters. Subsequently, the frauds then used their bank details and OTPs that were sent to their phone to purchase expensive mobiles from e-commerce platforms and then sell them off at a higher price to pocket the profits.

Subsequently, acting on the information revealed by Bairwa, the police arrested six persons from Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Navi Mumbai, and Bhiwandi.

On Tuesday, the police traced and caught the main accused, Hardy alias Prince Kamlesh Sajnani, in Chhattisgarh.

Over 107 mobile phones were seized from the accused’s possession, the police said.