A cyber fraud gang that lured people with promises of huge profits in online share trading has been busted by police in Sonbhadra. What makes the case striking is that the gang did not stop at duping ordinary citizens, it also targeted four policemen posted in the same district, cheating them out of lakhs of rupees. Police raided a location in Lucknow and arrested four men, recovering mobile phones, a laptop and the car used to carry out the fraud.
Fake apps that promised guaranteed returns
Under the supervision of Superintendent of Police Abhishek Verma, the Cyber Crime police station and the SWAT team jointly cracked the network. Investigators found that the accused ran fake online share trading platforms named BotBro, CrossMarket and MinCrypto to pull in victims. They promised investors a fixed return of 8 to 10 percent on whatever money they put in. Tempted by these guaranteed profits, several people invested through the platforms and ended up losing close to Rs 25.03 lakh in total. Among those cheated were four policemen posted in the district.
Late night raid in Lucknow, four held
Police traced the accused using electronic evidence and banking transaction records. Acting on this, teams raided a spot in Lucknow on the night of June 30 and arrested Sufiyan, Mohammad Danish, Arshad Siddiqui and Tufail Khan. A search of the accused turned up five mobile phones, a laptop and a four wheeler vehicle that the gang used to run its operations.
Money collected as investment, then split up
During questioning, the accused admitted that they would collect money from victims in the name of investment and route it into different bank accounts. The funds were then transferred across several more accounts and divided among the gang members, a method meant to throw investigating agencies off the trail. Police have added further sections to the case and stepped up the search for other members linked to the gang, while also working to recover whatever amount of the cheated money remains.
Police urge caution, ask victims to report immediately
Sonbhadra police have appealed to the public to thoroughly verify any online investment scheme before putting money into it. They have also advised that anyone who falls victim to cyber fraud should immediately file a complaint on helpline number 1930 or approach their nearest cyber police station.
