Tech fraud: CBI books Kanpur man, 4 others for duping US woman of ₹3.31 cr

The accused allegedly hacked the laptop of a US-based woman in May 2022 to illegally get hold of the aforementioned amount.

LUCKNOW A Kanpur man, along with four New Delhi residents, has been booked for tech fraud to the tune of US$ 400,000 (around ₹3.31 crore). The accused allegedly hacked the laptop of a US-based woman in May 2022 to illegally get hold of the aforementioned amount.

All four accused have been booked under relevant IPC sections. (Representative photo)

After registering an FIR against them with its Delhi unit on Tuesday (July 4), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carried out searches at the residences and hideouts of the accused in Kanpur and Delhi on Thursday, said CBI officials. They added that the accused have been identified as Rishabh Dixit, a resident of O Block in Kidwai Nagar, Kanpur, and four others Praful Gupta, Sarita Gupta, Kunal Almadi and Gaurav Pahwa, all residents of Delhi.

All four accused have been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 120-B for criminal conspiracy, 419 for impersonation, 420 for cheating as well as sections 66 and 66-D of Information Technology Act for cheating by impersonating using computer and dishonestly of fraudulently damaging a computer system. The FIR was registered on the victim’s oral complaint.

As per the FIR, Lisa Roth’s laptop was hacked when she was working on it on May 21, 2022. “She contacted the number displayed on her laptop screen. However, the hackers, impersonating an employee of a multi-national software company, misguided her. They said that there were some wire transfers from her retirement account and suggested that she contacts Fidelity Investments,” the FIR stated while adding, “It was further alleged that she called on the given number, the hacker took control of her laptop and induced her to transfer an amount of US $400,000 from her Fidelity account to her State Bank Account first”.

The officials said it was also alleged that the hacker fraudulently opened a virtual currency account on behalf of the victim and made her transfer the amount to it. “After converting the amount of US$ 400,000 in the form of cryptocurrency, the hacker further allegedly transferred the said amount to the crypto accounts of accused persons,” said an official.

So far, no arrest has been made but the investigation into the matter is underway.

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