Delhi Police has uncovered an interstate cyber fraud gang operating between Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh with the help of a stolen mobile phone belonging to an 88-year-old man, an official said on Monday. So far, nine cyber fraudsters have been arrested.
In this regard, a senior police officer said: The accused stole mobile phones and siphoned off money using the victims' bank accounts.
They had also been operating a call center-like setup in Jaipur to carry out further banking transactions. The matter came to light after the elderly man from West Patel Nagar filed a complaint on May 19 that his mobile phone had been stolen.
Two days later, after he got his SIM card back, he received text messages stating that a total of Rs. 70,000 had been withdrawn from his bank account — two transactions of Rs. 25,000 each and one transaction of Rs. 20,000.
The victim immediately filed a complaint about this financial fraud with the national cybercrime helpline. Following that, a first information report was registered on July 23. During the investigation, the police came to know about a fraud gang operating in Jaipur, Meerut, and Ghaziabad.
According to the police, this gang operated at multiple levels. Those working on the ground stole mobile phones; at the same time, another group in Meerut and Ghaziabad supplied bank accounts, debit cards, POS machines, and SIM cards used for the fraud.
The third group, operating from Jaipur, used stolen mobile phones and bank details to access victims’ accounts, transfer the money through fraudulent accounts, and then move that money to other accounts.
Financial transactions and digital surveillance helped the police confirm that the people providing fraudulent accounts were based in Meerut and Ghaziabad, and that the banking transactions were carried out from Jaipur.
A police team conducted a raid at a residential complex in Jaipur’s Jodhwara area. During the operation, they arrested Nikhil Soni (26), who was the mastermind behind the frauds, along with his associates Abhishek Kumar Jha, Anand Cha Sonar, Prince Cha Sonar, and Bishek Kumar Jha.
The raid revealed that they had been operating from a call center-like setup containing laptops, tablets, and other devices with victims’ data and transaction details. In addition, Rs. 4 lakh in cash was recovered from them.
At the same time, another team conducted raids in Meerut and Ghaziabad and arrested four people — Amar Jadav, Harsh, Mohan, and Washu — who were suspected of providing bank accounts.
The police seized 52 mobile phones, 70 debit cards, 145 SIM cards, 13 bank passbooks, six POS machines, four laptops, two tablet computers, four high-speed internet routers, and Rs. 4 lakh in cash from them.
The mobile phones contained victims’ data, banking apps, and conversations. The seized diaries contained transaction records and contact details.
A forensic examination of digital devices is underway. This fraud gang is linked to 19 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal in various states. An investigation is underway to determine the total amount allegedly obtained illegally by this gang, the official said.
