PNS | DEHRADUN
The cyber crime police station of the Special Task Force (STF) arrested a key member of a cyber fraud gang in Delhi for allegedly duping people by promising to revive their lapsed insurance policies. The accused Manoj Jaiswal (34), a Delhi resident, was apprehended after extensive technical investigation and inter-state police coordination, the deputy superintendent of police of STF Ankush Mishra said. He informed that the case came to light when a resident of Joshimath, Chamoli filed a complaint that he was duped of Rs 24.65 lakh.
The victim alleged that a caller, claiming to be a file manager at the IGMS/IRDA Delhi head office, misled him about receiving a refund for his lapsed insurance policy. The fraudsters asked for multiple payments, citing formalities and transferred the money into various bank accounts. Based on the complaint, the Cyber Crime Police Station registered a case under relevant acts along with Section 66D of the Information Technology Act. Mishra said that the investigations revealed the gang’s connection to Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Noida. He informed that the gang operated by impersonating officials from regulatory and financial authorities like the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Insurance Ombudsman. They targeted victims unable to sustain their insurance policies, offering to refund their money or reactivate the lapsed policies. During this process, the fraudsters demanded payments under the guise of completing formalities, eventually siphoning off large sums of money, Mishra said.
He stated that the police team, led by inspector Tribhuvan Rautela, collected crucial evidence in the case and nabbed Jaiswal from Delhi. The team also recovered a mobile phone with a SIM card, 16 Airtel SIM cards, eight telephone boxes, two telephones and a document from the Central Bank. The DSP revealed that the accused ran a call centre with his associates to gather personal details of individuals with lapsed policies. Using this information, they manipulated their victims into paying significant amounts of money under false pretenses. The investigation is ongoing, he said. The SSP STF Navneet Singh also urged the public to remain cautious and not fall for scams involving promises to revive lapsed policies, double their money or offer other lucrative opportunities. He appealed to citizens to report any suspicious calls or messages to their nearest cyber police station or lodge complaints on the cybercrime helpline 1930 or the official portal www.cybercrime.gov.in.
