The cyber cell unit of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police have arrested two cyber crooks for their alleged involvement in an online multi-level marketing fraud that was being operated via fraud websites and applications. The action followed in response to a complaint lodged by a 31-year-old job aspirant who came across an offer while surfing the internet.
The complainant was lured into depositing money in exchange of lucrative commissions offered on various levels of a marketing scheme on the online portal. To win the confidence and trust of their potential target, the crooks even transferred small amounts in the complainant’s account in the first level of the scheme. However, when the commission stopped and demands started increasing, the woman realized she was being duped and contacted the cyber-cell unit.
A team led by Police Inspector Sujitkumar Gunjkar and PSI Prasad Shenolkar under the supervision of ACP Amol Mandve and DCP (Crime) Dr. Mahesh Patil investigated the complaint and arrested the duo identified as Kapil Vaishnav and Vivek Sonasariya on the virtue of technical surveillance and money trail which had led to some bank accounts used for the fraudulent transactions. The police suspect the role a foreign national in creating the fake links to lure gullible people by floating bogus investment schemes and publicizing them on social media platforms.
The bank account of the accused which had a huge unaccounted turnover has been frozen. An offence under the relevant sections of the IPC for cheating and under sections 66(c) and 66(d) of Information Technology Act has been registered at the Bhayandar police station against the duo who have been remanded to custody. The MBVV police has appealed to people to refrain from conducting any type of financial transactions with strangers or unverified websites.
