New Delhi: Delhi Police has busted five major cyber fraud syndicates as part of 20 worked-out cyber fraud cases in west district, involving Rs 4.8 crore. Of this, Rs 1.6 crore has been lien-marked, and Rs 39 lakh has been reverted to victims through court orders. “During the operations conducted last month, police arrested 55 accused and traced multiple inter-state cyber fraud networks, said DCP (west) Darade Sharad Bhaskar. One of the cases involved a “digital arrest” fraud in which a senior citizen and retired central govt employee was cheated of Rs 15 lakh. The accused allegedly posed as law enforcement and govt officials, and used illegally issued SIM cards that were later converted into e-SIMs. QR codes of these e-SIMs were shared with foreign-based operators, and the numbers were used to contact the victim. Three people were arrested.In another case, Rs 14.3 lakh was defrauded through an investment scam, where people were added to WhatsApp groups promoting investment schemes promising high returns. The cheated money was routed through mule bank accounts procured and operated by the accused on a commission basis. Three people were arrested for their alleged role in the fraud. Police also worked out a Rs 25 lakh fake online trading fraud linked to Maharashtra. People were induced to invest through fraudulent trading platforms showing false profit data. Funds were transferred through multiple bank accounts used on commission. Two people were arrested. In a separate case, a complainant was cheated of Rs 1 lakh through a fake online furniture delivery platform. After making advance payments, the accused stopped responding. Four people were arrested in the case. The fifth case involved an investment fraud of Rs 24.8 lakh, in which the accused allegedly used USDT and other cryptocurrency-based methods to rotate and transfer funds. Investigators traced the trail through bank accounts and digital wallets. Three people were arrested in the case.
