STF arrests cyber fraud gang member from Agra for duping foreign nationals

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) has arrested a key member of an interstate cyber fraud gang from Agra for allegedly duping foreign nationals by sending multiple emails to their accounts, officials said on Monday.

The accused, identified as Amit Kumar Dhanda, from Gurugram (Haryana), was arrested on Sunday on Vayu Vihar road under Jagdishpura police station area of Agra, STF said in a statement.

An Apple MacBook, an Apple mobile phone, an Innova Hycross car without a number plate, an Aadhaar card and Rs 500 in cash were recovered from his possession.

The arrest followed specific intelligence inputs regarding a gang active in the Agra-Mathura region that targeted foreign nationals through cyber fraud, officials said.

"During interrogation, Dhanda revealed that one Irfan Malik, based in Park Circus, Kolkata, runs a call centre which blasts emails to US and other foreign citizens. Through follow-up phone calls, the victims are persuaded to install AnyDesk, a remote access software, allowing the gang to hack into their computers," STF officials said.

Once access is gained, the victims are defrauded under various pretexts, officials said.

Dhanda's role was to provide foreign bank account numbers obtained from a Chinese national to Malik. The defrauded money was first routed to these accounts.

The Chinese associate allegedly retained 35 per cent as commission and transferred the remaining 65 per cent to Dhanda through hawala channels.

Dhanda, in turn, kept 10 per cent as his cut before passing on the balance to Malik, the STF said.

Police records show that Dhanda was earlier booked in 2020 in Gurugram under IPC sections 120B (criminal conspiracy), 420 (cheating) and relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act.

A fresh case has now been registered against him under section 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and section 66D of the IT Act at Jagdishpura police station in Agra.

A detailed probe is on in the matter.

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