New Delhi: Police have arrested 27 people after a weeklong operation in 10 states allegedly linked to cyber fraud syndica-tes involved in investment scams, APK file frauds, social media impersonation, credit card scams, task-based fraud and visa-related cheating. The arrests were carried out by Cyber West police station in Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Bihar and West Bengal after raids at multiple locations. DCP (West) Darade Sharad Bhaskar said: “The action was connected to 10 major cyber fraud cases involving more than Rs 1.5 crore allegedly cheated from victims. Around 150 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) were linked to the bank accounts and mobile numbers used by the accused.” Financial scrutiny of the accounts under investigation revealed suspicious transacti-ons amounting to nearly Rs 14 crore which police suspect were connected to fraudulent activities. The syndicates allegedly lured targets through fake online investment platforms promising high returns, circulated malicious APK files posing as legitimate banking applications, and faked identity on social media to extract money from people. In several cases, the targets were allegedly drawn into task-based earning schemes and visa-related frauds. “Among the cases were a visa-related fraud of Rs 15 lakh, a task-based fraud of Rs 4.7 lakh, and multiple investment fra-uds involving Rs 12.4 lakh, Rs 33.3 lakh, Rs 19.5 lakh, and Rs 6.5 lakh. Instances of APK-based impersonation of bank officials, as well as credit card and social media impersonat-ion, were also part of the probe,” DCP Bhaskar said. Police said the accused, aged between 20 and 42 years, hailed from Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Mahar-ashtra, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal. The network was inter-state, with different members handling bank accou-nts, SIM cards, digital transactions and withdrawals. During the operation, police said they seized 25 mobile phones, 28 SIM cards, 20 banking cards, one point-of-sale (POS) machine, a motorcycle and various bank documents and account kits suspected to have been used in the frauds.
