Police in Balrampur district caught a big cyber fraud gang and arrested 5 criminals. This gang was running online scams across India. This gang rented bank accounts and SIM cards to run scams and move money secretly.
Five arrested people in the case are: Mohammad Akram Khan, Baccha Lal (also known as Prashant or Golu), Ashif, Prateek Mishra, and Sujeet Singh. Among them, Ashif already had a serious criminal case against him from before.
How did the gang work?
The accused used to trap innocent people by offering them money. They took their bank accounts and SIM cards on rent, and in return, the account holders were paid around ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 for each account. Agents who helped arrange these accounts were given about ₹5,000 as commission.
After getting these accounts, the accused used fake ID documents to open even more bank accounts and SIM cards. They then used all these rented accounts to receive money collected through fraud.
They used WhatsApp groups to stay in touch and manage their activities. They coordinated all their work through these groups. To avoid suspicion, important items like bank passbooks, ATM cards, and SIM cards were secretly packed inside sweet boxes and sent through courier services.
How did they cheat people?
The gang used different tricks to cheat people. Sometimes, they pretended to be someone familiar and asked for money. They also ran fake online investment schemes and used online betting platforms to trap victims.
They collected money through QR codes, UPI, and internet banking. After receiving the money, they moved it through multiple bank accounts again and again so that it became difficult to trace where the money originally came from.
So far, 14 complaints have been linked to this gang, and around ₹58 crore fraud is connected to these cases. In just 8 bank accounts, transactions worth over ₹5 crore were found. During the investigation, police seized Android phones, Apple iPhones, and fake documents from the accused. The police have registered a case against all the accused and are now searching for other members of the gang. The investigation is still going on, especially to track and understand the flow of money involved in the fraud.
