Times News NetworkKanpur: The Reuna police arrested 12 cyber criminals involved in a cybercrime following a tip-off from an informer, on late Monday night. The informer indicated that multiple individuals were engaging in cyber criminal activities near the Old Canal Kothi close to the Girsi canal bridge gaushala. The arrested suspects have been identified as Atul Kushwaha, Nitesh, Deepak Kumar, Mohit, Sanjay, Pawan, Nilesh, Ankit, Sajan, Chandan Singh, Sajan Singh, and Kamlesh.During the personal search of the suspects, the police recovered seven smartphones, three keypad phones, and a total of 3780 rupees.DCP (South) Deependra Nath Chaudhary said, acting on the informer’s information, the in-charge of the Reuna police station, along with a police team, proceeded to the location indicated by the informer. “They surrounded the individuals engaged in cybercrime at the Old Canal Kothi and arrested 12 suspects on the spot. A case has been filed against the arrested individuals, and appropriate actions are underway,” said the DCP.The police elaborated on the methods employed by the arrested individuals and those who managed to escape. They operated in organized groups of 3-4 members, utilizing mobile phones with counterfeit SIM cards. They altered the digits at the beginning or end of the numbers they dialled, and used platforms like Truecaller, PhonePe, Google Pay, and Paytm to ascertain the correct names of their targets.Once they obtained accurate information, the group members would initiate phone conversations, claiming, “I am calling from the Awas Vikas office. You had submitted an application for the Pradhan Mantri Awas. Please provide your Aadhaar card number so I can verify if your house has been approved.”Subsequently, they would inform the victim, “Your house has been approved. For further details, you may speak with our senior officer.” A second individual, positioned nearby, would then take over the call, stating, “The process for your Pradhan Mantri Awas application has been finalized. To proceed with the withdrawal of funds for your Pradhan Mantri Awas, you are required to complete the registration, which incurs a fee of Rs 1100/, to be transferred to our government account.”
