Mumbai Police bust gang that extorted money from residents by posing as cyber crime officers; two held

The accused would promise employment to job seekers, collect their documents, and open salary accounts in their names. These accounts were then provided to members of the cyber fraud gang, who used them to transact the money extorted after duping people

The Dahisar Police in Mumbai have arrested two members of an alleged cyber fraud gang. According to the police, the gang members used to extort money from people by posing as cyber crime branch officers.

The accused —  Varun Kumar Tiwari, 32, and Sachin Mishra, 25 — were nabbed from Mira Road by the Dahisar Cyber Cell last week. According to the police, the duo would provide bank accounts to the kingpin of the gang for transferring the money obtained through the fraud.

According to the police sources, a 35-year-old Dahisar resident received a call last month from a person who identified as a representative of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). The caller falsely claimed that the complainant's Aadhaar Card details had been leaked and, to prevent any potential misuse, said he would transfer her call to the Lucknow Police. Shortly thereafter, she received a WhatsApp call from a person posing as an officer from the Lucknow Crime Branch. The fraudster threatened her with a 10-year jail sentence and said she would need to pay money if she wanted to file a complaint. He also falsely assured her that she would be reimbursed.

Believing him, the woman transferred Rs 88,000. After receiving the payment, the caller contacted her again and demanded an additional Rs 2 lakh, threatening that the police would arrest her if she did not comply. Realising that it was a scam, the woman immediately rushed to Dahisar Police Station.

Based on her complaint, the police registered a case, and under the supervision of Senior Inspector Ashok Honmane and Inspector Abdul Haque Desai, Assistant Inspector Ankush Dandge led the investigation along with his cyber team. During the probe, he obtained crucial information on the bank account in which the complainant's money was transferred. After detaining the account holder, the police discovered the role of Tiwari and Mishra in the crime.

Following this, the cops set up a trap at Mira Road and arrested the duo, an officer from Dahisar Police Station said. 

During interrogation, it was revealed that Tiwari used to operate a dairy business while Mishra had earlier worked in a cellular phone company.

The two are alleged members of the cyber fraud gang that extorts money from people by posing as TRAI, Cybercrime branch, courier, and customs officers employees.

Further interrogation and investigation revealed that Tiwari and Mishra would also promise jobs to people, collect their documents, and open salary and current accounts in their names. They then provided these accounts to the members of the gang in exchange for commission. Additionally, they earned a percentage of the money transacted through these accounts. The duo opened 10 accounts in a nationalised bank in Kandivali alone, one of which was used to transfer the Dahisar-based complainant's money. The accused have revealed that transactions worth crores of rupees have taken place in the accounts given to the cyber fraud gang through them.

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