Cyber fraud racket busted, 3 held from Jamtara for duping man of over Rs 10 lakh

The Delhi Police arrested three cybercriminals from Jamtara in Jharkhand for allegedly duping a Delhi-based man of Rs 10.80 lakh by posing as credit card officials, an official said on Wednesday.

To avoid suspicion and blend with the locals, a police team conducted reconnaissance of the accused in traditional tribal attire and monitored the suspects from a distance for hours.

The officer also claimed that with their arrest, they busted a cyber fraud network operation from Jamtara. The arrested were identified as Mujaffar Jilani (27), Aftab Ansari (27), and Md Iqbal Raza (24), all residents of Karmatar in Jamtara.

''Jamtara has gained notoriety over the years as a hub for organised cyber frauds in India. We have recovered five mobile phones, six SIM cards and a debit card allegedly used in the commission of the fraud,'' Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Amit Goel said in a statement.

The fraud came to light after a case was registered at the Cyber Police Station based on a complaint filed by K.C. Barthwal, a 49-year-old resident of Palam in Delhi. Barthwal alleged that he received a phone call from an unknown number on April 5. The caller, posing as an official from a government bank's credit card branch in Mumbai, falsely claimed that Rs 588.82 had been debited from Barthwal's credit card.

''The caller then pressured the victim to either activate or block his credit card by clicking on a link sent to his phone. The link led to a phishing site resembling the official bank portal. Barthwal, unaware of the trap, opened the link and shared his card details,'' the DCP said.

A day later, Barthwal received another call that extracted even more personal information. Over the next few days, unauthorised transactions totalling Rs 10.80 lakh were allegedly made from his credit card and linked bank account.

An FIR was registered, and further investigation began. The team carried out technical surveillance and identified the accused as being located in the Jamtara region.

''Following a two-day surveillance operation, the police apprehended the accused. All three were brought to Delhi on transit remand and interrogated,'' the DCP stated.

Explaining the gang's modus operandi, the police stated that the fraudsters used a multi-layered approach combining phishing, social engineering and technological tools to extract money from the victim.

First, the victim received spoofed calls from numbers masked to appear official. The fraudsters then sent a malicious phishing link that mimicked genuine websites and prompted their targets to enter credit card details. Later, a fake mobile application was installed on the victim's device, allowing the accused to remotely access sensitive data and intercept OTPs in real-time.

The gang also allegedly gained access to the victim's internet banking credentials, which they obtained under the guise of account verification. Once inside the net banking portal, the accused transferred funds into various digital wallets and gaming platforms. The laundered money was routed through multiple mule accounts before being withdrawn in cash.

Identifying Ansari as the alleged mastermind who managed the entire operation, including planning and laundering funds through gaming wallets, the DCP stated that his close associate, Jilani, received portions of the siphoned amount via the same wallets. Raza, 24, was the alleged tech brain behind the operation, responsible for creating and distributing malicious APK files and ensuring real-time capture of OTPs and SMS communications by forwarding the victim's mobile content to a fake number he controlled. Raza also helped in transferring the stolen money and organising cash withdrawals, the DCP added, noting that further investigation is underway.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)