Bhubaneswar: Commissionerate Police busted a cyber crime gang and arrested three persons involved in an online job scam from the Odisha capital.
Mobile handsets, fake Aadhaar cards and banners of fake companies used to open mule bank accounts have also been seized from the possession of the arrested persons, the Commissionerate Police informed on Sunday.
The accused have been identified as Balgopal Barik (28) of Dhanger in Baragarh district who resided in Khandagiri, Debendra Kumar Sethi (28) of Chitra in Puri’s Birtung who lived in Kalinga Nagar, and Sandip Kumar Rout (23) of Kalarabanka in Ainipur, Kishan Nagar of Cuttack district who stayed in Dattatreya Apartment in Ghatikia in Bhubaneswar.
According to police, complainant Ajay Kumar Panda of Patia Station Road received a message from an unknown number on his WhatsApp address. He was offered a job where he would have to give online ratings to different hotels, restaurants and small industries and would be paid for the work.
Ajay took up the task and earned some money. Later, he was asked to join a Telegram group, VIP5000, where he was convinced to invest Rs 5,000 to earn more money. He invested the amount and when the task was completed, he was given another. Panda kept on investing and his investments went up to lakhs but did not receive anything in return.
Acting on his complaint, the Commissionerate Police began an investigation and found that the money paid by Ajay was credited in the name of a fake company Acadify Technology Pvt Ltd. Police visited the address mentioned in the bank account and found that it was created only to receive money through cyber fraud.
On further investigation, it was found that a cyber crime gang operating in Odisha created the mule company’s current accounts to receive money from cyber fraud. They changed the address on their Aadhaar card to misguide the police.
The three fraudsters were arrested based on evidence, including a mobile phone, fake banner and Aadhaar card with a modified address, screenshots of Ajay’s chats with the fraudsters in the Telegram/Whatsapp group, and statements of bank account transactions of accused and victims.
The Commissionerate Police has warned people not to blindly accept lucrative earning offers online, share their bank account details, internet banking username, password, ATM Card details and cheque book to any third party/agent, reveal bank account to a third party/agent and make unconventional online payment through NEFT/IMPS/RTGS to account holders in investment and trading.
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