The Cyber Police Station in Delhi's Shahdara district has busted a gang that allegedly impersonated Paytm executives to cheat street vendors and small business owners, arresting five accused in a cyber fraud case involving Rs 95,000, police said on Saturday, IANS reported. The accused allegedly offered help with KYC-related issues, QR code updates and soundbox replacement to gain access to victims' phones.

Source: IANS via BizzBuzz

The case was registered as FIR No. 55/26 on October 26 at the Cyber Police Station, Shahdara, under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, following a complaint by Ramavtar, a vegetable vendor. Police said that on October 20, two persons approached Ramavtar claiming to be Paytm executives and, on the pretext of resolving KYC issues and updating his QR code soundbox, took possession of his mobile phone — after which two unauthorised transactions of Rs 50,000 and Rs 45,000 were carried out, a total loss of Rs 95,000.

Source: IANS via BizzBuzz

5Accused arrested by Shahdara Cyber Police
Rs 95,000Amount lost by the complainant in two transactions
50-60Victims the gang is suspected of cheating in the same way
~20Cybercrime complaints across India linked to the gang's bank accounts

Two posed as executives, three allegedly moved the money

During the investigation, police analysed the money trail, bank accounts and CCTV footage. Two of the accused allegedly impersonated Paytm executives to cheat victims, while the remaining three allegedly provided bank accounts to route and withdraw the cheated money, police said. The arrested accused were identified as Juned, 23, a resident of Chhaprauli in Uttar Pradesh's Baraut (also reported as Junaid); Anas, 19, of Sangam Vihar, Wazirabad; Mohit, 24, and Rohit, 19, both of Bhalswa Dairy in North Delhi; and Sumit Kumar, 19, of Aya Nagar in South Delhi. A Paytm employee identity card was found on Juned's mobile phone, and police said he had previously been associated with the company and is alleged to be the gang's main coordinator.

Source: Top Indian News

Six mobile phones, seven SIM cards, four ATM cards and three cash withdrawal slips were recovered during the investigation. The probe was led by Inspector Shweta Sharma with ASI Rajdeep and Head Constables Javed, Deepak and Narender, under SHO Vijay Kumar and ACP (Operations) Avdhesh Kumar, with overall supervision by Shahdara DCP Rajendra Prasad Meena, according to the reports.

Source: IANS via BizzBuzz

Police caution: never hand your phone to a stranger

The DCP has cautioned the public against handing their mobile phones to strangers, and said anyone who falls victim to cyber fraud should immediately call the national cyber helpline 1930, Top Indian News reported. Police said further investigation is underway to identify other victims and uncover the full financial network behind the gang. The allegations against the arrested men are yet to be tested in court.