Patna: Police have busted a cyberfraud gang that allegedly targeted US citizens through international calls and cheated them of lakhs of rupees. Four suspected members of the gang were arrested by a police team of Musallahpur, who also recovered nine mobile phones, four laptops, Rs1.09 lakh in cash, two motorcycles and seven ATM cards.Patna City SDPO-I Raj Kishore Singh said police acted on information about a group allegedly involved in cyberfraud. “Akshay Kumar Shah was arrested first, following which police obtained information about other members of the group during interrogation. Based on his disclosures, Omprakash, Satya Kumar and Abhishek Kumar were subsequently arrested,” he said on Saturday.According to the SDPO, the gang had allegedly been operating for around four years and primarily targeted people in the United States. “The accused allegedly contacted foreign nationals through international calls and posed as representatives dealing with computer-related problems. After gaining access to the victims’ computer systems, they allegedly demanded money on the pretext of resolving the technical issue,” he said.
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Investigators said the gang members had technical skills and used their ability to communicate in English to gain the confidence of their targets. Police said some of the arrested suspects had MBA qualifications and were fluent in English.The investigation has also revealed suspected links between the gang and a hawala network. Police said around Rs3.50 lakh had been frozen in bank accounts linked to the accused. Investigators are examining the transactions to identify people who transferred or received the money and to trace other members of the suspected network.The nine mobile phones and four laptops seized during the arrests have been sent for technical examination. Police are examining the devices for details of calls made to US citizens, online transactions and other digital evidence to determine the extent of the alleged operation.
