Bhubaneswar: Six persons from Kolkata ran a cybercrime racket from an apartment at Sundarpada in Odisha capital and cheated people under the garb of customer care centre, Bhubaneswar DCP Pinak Mishra informed on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Sameer Mobin (26), Md Javed Hussain (26), Md Tosif (23), Faizan Alam (24), Shaaib Raza(22) and Md Haider Ali (34). Six laptops, 11 mobile phones and other incrementing articles like Jio Air Fiber, cables, WI-Fi routers and towers have been seized from their possession during a raid by Bhubaneswar Cyber Crime and Economic Offences Police on Wednesday.
The DCP said that preliminary probe has revealed that they used to send fake emails to national and international clients who had subscribed to antivirus software by posing as staff of MACAFEE and Nortron customer care. “They used to take control of a device on the pretext of uploading anti-virus and steal important data from it through remote access,” he said, adding that they had some clients in the US.
The accused used to earn Rs 1 lakh a month for providing fake numbers and inducing customers to make fraudulent transactions.
Mishra further stated an exhaustive investigation is on to unravel the financial transactions and their modus operandi. “The seized items have been sent for forensic analysis and we are waiting for the report. We are also taking the help of technical experts. Efforts are on to trace their local contacts and those abroad. A team will be sent to Kolkata to verify their identity,” said.
Police have also sought 5-day remand of the accused, most of whom are graduate. Since such cases have inter-state ramification, several investigating agency are expected to question them, he added.
The six accused have been booked under section 318(4), 319(2), 336(2), 336(3), 340(2), 338,61(2), 111(2) (b) of BNS Act and section 66(C), 66(D) of IT Act.