Monday, 09 SEPTEMBER 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) arrested two cyber frauds with international ties who duped a resident of Rs 53 lakh in Rudrapur, Udham Singh Nagar. The accused, identified as Gurpreet Singh and Premshankar, were arrested for defrauding victims by luring them into online trading schemes through social media advertisements. The duo, apprehended in Rudrapur, is linked to cybercriminals in Dubai, where Singh had previously travelled and established connections, the deputy superintendent of police of cyber crime police station, STF, Ankush Mishra said. He informed that investigation was launched after a victim from Rudrapur filed a complaint in August 2024. The victim was enticed by an online trading advertisement on Facebook, which led him to join a WhatsApp group. The victim was directed to deposit around Rs 53 lakh into various accounts under the pretext of trading through a group named Goldman Sachs India Pvt Ltd. Further investigation revealed that the accused used commission-based bank accounts to receive funds and manipulated victims by displaying fake profits through a fraudulent trading platform. Occasionally, the criminals would send small amounts back to victims to avoid raising suspicion. The money collected was then transferred to other accounts. Mishra said that the duo was arrested late on Saturday in Rudrapur. The team also recovered three mobile phones, nine debit cards from various banks, Aadhaar card, PAN card, voter ID card and other documents. The STF has begun coordinating with police in other States, as multiple cybercrime complaints have been registered against the accused across India. Bank statements show transactions amounting to crores of rupees.
The STF will also examine the extent of the accused’s connections to cybercriminals in other regions to arrest more accused, he added.
