Saturday, 31 AUGUST 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Dehradun cyber crime police station of Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF) has exposed a multi-crore Chinese investment scam involving online work from home fraud across India. Three members of the gang, including its leader, were arrested from Gurugram, Haryana, the STF senior superintendent of police Ayush Agrawal said. The STF came to know about the gang after a woman, resident of Saraswati Vihar in Dehradun, registered a complaint stating she was duped of Rs 21 lakh in June 2024. The victim had been lured into joining a Telegram group called Harvey’s Appliances Crew 1319 with promises of lucrative work from home opportunities. Initially, the victim received payments for completing tasks, but was later coerced into making multiple deposits with the promise of higher returns. When the victim tried to withdraw the accumulated amount, she was asked to pay a 50 per cent security fee, prompting suspicion of a scam. The STF started the investigation and finally arrested three accused, Pratham Shokeen (24), Subhash Sharma (25) and Mukul Godhara (20), from Gurgaon, Haryana late on Thursday, the SSP said. Agrawal said that the police recovered five mobile phones, five credit cards, nine ATM cards and two Aadhaar cards from the possession of the accused, along with bank account details and mobile handsets used in the crime. The investigation revealed that the accused managed multiple fake bank accounts and transferred the defrauded amount into USDT cryptocurrency accounts with the help of international cyber criminals. He said that the arrested men confessed to their involvement in the scam and the laundering of money through cryptocurrency transactions. They were allegedly in contact with an international cybercrime syndicate based in Dubai through WhatsApp groups. They carried out fraudulent activities in India under the syndicate’s directions, including withdrawing money from ATMs in Dubai. The SSP said that the accused opened over 50 fake bank accounts and received commissions for selling these fake accounts to Chinese citizens, as well as sending cryptocurrencies. Several citizens from across the country have filed complaints against them. Necessary details will be shared with the police of other states, he added.
