Noida: Six held for duping people over credit card limit

The suspects used to give their offer to raise the credit limit without any charges. Later, to seek one’s authentication, a fake bank weblink used to be sent to the target

Noida: A gang that allegedly duped people on the pretext of increasing their credit card limit was busted on Saturday and its six members were arrested from Sector 37, Noida police said on Sunday, adding that the suspects used to call people as customer care executives of banks.

Police recovered 28 high-end mobile phones, 12 silver and four gold coins, a car (Maruti Suzuki i10) and a scooter from the suspects’ possession, they used to operate from this car by travelling to different locations. (HT Photo)

Police identified the suspects as Nagendra Sharma, 24, Amit Kumar, 27, Ravi Kant, 29, and Vikas Jha, 24, all residents of Noida’s Sector 45, Tez Singh, 27, a resident of Sector 49, and Nawab Khan, a resident of Sector 144, said Manish Kumar Mishra, additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP), Noida.

Nagendra, who holds a Master of Computer Application (MCA) degree, helped the gang technically. Another man called “Mota bhai”, also suspected to be a developer of a fake mobile application, was the mastermind of the gang and he is absconding, the officer added.

Mishra said all the suspects hold either B. Com or MCA degrees. “During investigation they revealed that they used to call their target posing as customer care executives of banks after buying data of credit card holders from online websites.”

Explaining the gang’s modus operandi, the ADCP said that they used to give their offer to raise the credit limit without any charges. Later, to seek one’s authentication, a fake bank weblink used to be sent to the target.

When the targeted person opened the weblink, appearing like a bank website link, a consent was sought to access further messages, officers said. “They ask the victim to download an application (App) using their weblink and fill in the details, including bank details,” said ADCP Mishra, adding that after accessing the message and all credit card details, the suspects used to purchase mobile phones and gold and silver coins with that private information.

An officer, part of the investigation, said the suspects were running the gang since 2021, and the arrest came after an informer alerted them about their activity.

Police recovered 28 high-end mobile phones, 12 silver and four gold coins, a Maruti Suzuki i10, and a scooter from the suspects’ possession. The suspects used to operate from this car by travelling to different locations. Further investigation is underway, said officers.

A case under sections 318(4) (cheating), 336(3) (forgery), 340(2) (forged electronic documents), 339 (knowingly possessing a forged document or electronic record with the intent to use it as genuine) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Information Technology Act was registered against them at Sector 39 police station.