Maha: Nagpur Police unearth 'task fraud', trace money trail to China; six held

Representative Image. Pic/iStock

The Nagpur cyber police has unearthed a transaction involving the transfer of crime money to a Chinese individual through cryptocurrency and arrested six men from Mumbai, Gujarat, and Rajasthan, PTI reported.

Three of the six men arrested hail from Mumbai and suburban Nalasopara and the others from Rajasthan and Surat.

Police seized 19 debit and credit cards, nine mobile phones, a laptop, and cash worth Rs 7.87 lakh. Additionally, police have frozen Rs 37.26 lakh from the bank accounts of the accused individuals, the officer said.

Addressing a press conference, Deputy Commissioner of Police (cyber) Archit Chandak said the fraudsters employ different teams to handle various tasks, including an IT team to monitor transactions and a banking Team to facilitate their activities.

Fraud involves the promise of money for performing tasks like liking videos and giving reviews of products. Later, fraudsters lure the targeted individuals with "prepaid" tasks. They keep on increasing the fees and the victims keep paying the amounts expecting higher returns till they realise they are cheated.

"Task fraud involves a systematic process that consists of three key steps- trust building, laying trap, and treachery. Cyber criminals first entice individuals with tasks promising lucrative monetary rewards.

Also read: Mumbai rains: Two die of drowning in drain; traffic snarls, several incidents of trees falling, short circuits reported

"In the second stage, they set a trap wherein they win the victims' trust over a month and persuade them with the prospects of an elevated profile in exchange for various fees. This ultimately leads to the third step- treachery- wherein the accused absconds with money and cut off all communication with the victim," said Chandak.

He said the modus operandi resembles the operations of corporate entities.

"These criminals employ different teams to handle various tasks, including an IT team to monitor transactions and a banking Team to facilitate their activities," the DCP said.

Probing a complaint lodged by a Nagpur-based chemical engineer, police achieved a breakthrough when they traced the money trail to Meet Vyas, one of the arrested men, who had transferred the funds to a Chinese individual using cryptocurrency, Chandak said.

Police arrested Akash Tiwari and Ravi Verma from Mumbai, Santosh Mishra from Nalasopara, Meet Vyas from Surat, and Ankit Tater and Arvind Sharma from Rajasthan.

Further investigation is underway to bust the entire criminal network and any potential international connections, a police official said. (PTI)