13-member gang held for cyber fraud in Villivakkam and Triplicane 

The Cyber Crime Wing of Greater Chennai City Police have arrested a gang of 13 men in Villivakkam and Ayanavaram who allegedly swindled money from gullible victims through a cyber fraud and made hawala transactions. 

A 72-year-old retired engineer living in Abhiramapuram, Chennai said she had received an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) phone call saying that her cell phone connection would be disconnected in two hours and to press 09 for more information. She dialled 09 as she did not want her number to get disconnected since her cell phone number was linked to Aadhaar, bank accounts, gas cylinder connection and others. 

In that call, the scammer said that many bank accounts were opened using her phone number and Aadhaar number, and money laundering was also done, owing to which she was facing a criminal case booked by Mumbai Police. The caller connected the call to another person who claimed to be a Mumbai Police officer and said that she should come to Mumbai cybercrime police station within two hours for inquiry or she would be arrested. The fraudster convinced her that if she co-operated with the investigation through a video call, they would release her and asked her to isolate herself at home and she was digitally arrested. She was made to transfer her money, ₹4.67 crore in total, that would be returned to her accounts after verification. However, the fraudsters cheated her.

On the orders of City Police Commissioner A.Arun, a thorough investigation was ordered. The investigation revealed that the fraudsters from Villivakkam and Triplicane sent the money abroad through Hawala mode and brought it back through crypto currency using Binance trading mobile APP. The fraudsters have been doing this to hide the money flow without getting trapped all these days. So far, 13 accused have been arrested in connection with this case and ₹53 lakh, cell phones, cheque books, ATM cards, passbook and laptop were seized relating to similar cases.

Mr. Arun cautioned the public to be careful about such fake calls, high profit investment advertisements, fake investment apps, websites and advised the people not to transfer money into unknown bank accounts. He also warned that those who open bank accounts for carrying out fraudulent money transactions would have to face legal action. In case of any loss of money due to fraud, he advised the public to report immediately on cybercrime helpline number 1930 and website address https:// cybercrime.gov.in.

Published - October 04, 2024 01:19 am IST