Two Ajmer-based men have been apprehended by the police for duping a woman on the pretext of a bogus task-based cyber fraud.
Task-based fraud is a common type of cyber offence where criminals offer part-time jobs to people as a task, assuring them hefty pay after completion of each of those tasks. Cyber experts suggest that these types of joint, national-level syndicates are hard to catch given how many people are involved, and the way they spread across states and nations. The Matunga police managed to break the notion by debunking the syndicate – by arresting two individuals from Ajmer, Rajasthan.
The matter first surfaced months ago when a Matunga-based woman approached the police alleging she was duped by two unknown persons, who had offered her a part-time job and was given tasks in return for Rs.2,000 to Rs.3,000 after every task she completed. By promising money that would be returned later, she was duped Rs. 3 lakhs.
“In cases like these, money once transferred from the victim’s account – keeps shifting to several, uncountable accounts. These bank accounts are bogus, and not legitimate, which makes it difficult to trace them, and even if we manage to do so, the name registered to the account is not the person it claims to be. In this case, money was seen shifting to at least five states, including Maharashtra – Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. We managed to freeze the accounts by contacting the bank, and in Maharashtra, the account was found in Mumbai’s Bandra-Kurla Complex,” said Keshav Wagh, of Matunga police station, who is the investigating officer in the case.
The complainant also provided the mobile numbers of the person who contacted her, their email ID and a Telegram account through which they communicated.
These were studied through technical investigation by the cyber cell officials, and the mobile number’s Subscriber Details Record (SDR) and Call Details Record (CDR). “We studied and checked the activities of these numbers through the SDR and CDR, and found that they are at one location – that was Ajmer in Rajasthan. A team was sent to check on them, after which they were arrested,” the official added.
Both Accused Have Multiple Bank Accounts
What’s interesting is that the two accused, identified as Kanhaiyalal Satyanarayan Yadav, 31, and Saurabh Sancheti, 40, who have multiple bank accounts – showed that they had multiple financial transactions which would total up to Rs. 30 crores or more, said the police. During the interrogation, they revealed their modus to the police.
“They get Rs. 50,000 or so for every bogus bank account they make, and if they manage to get money into these banks, they get more money. It’s a huge link, there are many above and below them, spread across states. The accused had come to Mumbai, days before the crime, to make bank accounts, some in the main city, some near Thane, etc. Then they return to commit the crime, as they are under the impression that if they do so at a secluded location, in this case in Ajmer, which is miles away from the victim’s location, they are safe, they think. Everyone involved in these crimes gets a part (financially), and all of them are mostly villagers who get the opportunity to make some chumps by simply making a bogus bank account,” Wagh explained.
