Mumbai Police has exposed a major cyber fraud gang and arrested 12 accused individuals, including a couple. This gang defrauded people across the country online and embezzled approximately 60.82 crore rupees. According to police, the accused carried out the scam by purchasing bank accounts and SIM cards.
According to reports, the crime branch team conducted a raid in the Kandivali area on August 12 and apprehended five accused. Several bank passbooks and SIM cards were recovered from them.
Bank accounts purchased for 7 to 8 thousand rupees
The investigation revealed that the gang had purchased 943 bank accounts so far, out of which 180 accounts were used in the fraud. The accused would purchase bank accounts and SIM cards for 7 to 8 thousand rupees and then use them for crimes such as digital arrests, online shopping fraud, and share trading fraud.
It was revealed that this gang had been active since last year to cheat people across the country. The accused committed fraud worth 10.57 crore rupees in the state alone, while cyber fraud amounting to 1.67 crore rupees was carried out in Mumbai city. The remaining amount was defrauded from people in other states.
12 cyber fraudsters arrested
The police investigation also uncovered that some of the accused involved in the gang earned hefty sums by selling their bank accounts and SIM cards. The gang leaders used these for online fraud.
So far, police have arrested 12 people and several bank accounts have been frozen. Police say this is one of the largest cyber fraud rackets in the country and the search for more people connected to this network is ongoing.
