Coimbatore cybercrime police arrested a three-member gang from Madhya Pradesh for running a courier scam. The gang cheated numerous people across India, including a 75-year-old Coimbatore resident of ₹67 lakh in June.
Coimbatore: The Coimbatore city cybercrime police have successfully busted a courier scam operation, arresting a three-member gang from Madhya Pradesh. The accused, identified as N Ravikumar Sharma (23), N Mukul Chandel (24), and R Anil Jatav (24), all hailing from Guna in Madhya Pradesh, were allegedly involved in cheating numerous people across the country.
The arrests were made on July 4 with the assistance of Madhya Pradesh police. The trio was subsequently remanded to judicial custody and lodged at the Coimbatore Central Prison on July 6.
The gang came under the police radar after they allegedly cheated C George, a 75-year-old resident of Ram Nagar in Coimbatore, of ₹67 lakh in June. George was contacted via video call on June 8 by an individual claiming to be Vinay Kumar Choubey, a police officer from Bandra police station in Mumbai.
The caller informed George that his name had been included as an accused in a cheating case, claiming that a fraudster had used his Aadhaar card to open a bank account and obtain a SIM card. The next day, another person posing as Choubey's superior, Akash Kulhari, contacted George, stating they had obtained a warrant from the Supreme Court for his arrest.
To evade arrest, George was asked to pay a fine. He transferred ₹67 lakh from one of his bank accounts to several bank accounts provided by the unknown person. The scammers then contacted George again, demanding an additional ₹10 lakh.
The fraud came to light when George approached another bank to withdraw money from a fixed deposit. The bank manager, upon inquiring about the need for the withdrawal, advised George to contact the cybercrime police after learning about the incident. A case was registered on June 12.
During the investigation, police seized laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, and bank passbooks from the arrested trio. A police officer revealed, "The fraudsters used more than 700 bank accounts opened in the names of people from various states and were using 100 UPI IDs for fraudulent transactions of ₹2.25 crore."
The Coimbatore cybercrime police's swift action in busting this courier scam serves as a reminder for citizens to remain vigilant against such elaborate frauds. Authorities continue to urge the public to verify the authenticity of callers claiming to be officials and to refrain from transferring money based on threats or pressure.
The arrests were made on July 4 with the assistance of Madhya Pradesh police. The trio was subsequently remanded to judicial custody and lodged at the Coimbatore Central Prison on July 6.
The gang came under the police radar after they allegedly cheated C George, a 75-year-old resident of Ram Nagar in Coimbatore, of ₹67 lakh in June. George was contacted via video call on June 8 by an individual claiming to be Vinay Kumar Choubey, a police officer from Bandra police station in Mumbai.
The caller informed George that his name had been included as an accused in a cheating case, claiming that a fraudster had used his Aadhaar card to open a bank account and obtain a SIM card. The next day, another person posing as Choubey's superior, Akash Kulhari, contacted George, stating they had obtained a warrant from the Supreme Court for his arrest.
To evade arrest, George was asked to pay a fine. He transferred ₹67 lakh from one of his bank accounts to several bank accounts provided by the unknown person. The scammers then contacted George again, demanding an additional ₹10 lakh.
The fraud came to light when George approached another bank to withdraw money from a fixed deposit. The bank manager, upon inquiring about the need for the withdrawal, advised George to contact the cybercrime police after learning about the incident. A case was registered on June 12.
During the investigation, police seized laptops, mobile phones, SIM cards, and bank passbooks from the arrested trio. A police officer revealed, "The fraudsters used more than 700 bank accounts opened in the names of people from various states and were using 100 UPI IDs for fraudulent transactions of ₹2.25 crore."
The Coimbatore cybercrime police's swift action in busting this courier scam serves as a reminder for citizens to remain vigilant against such elaborate frauds. Authorities continue to urge the public to verify the authenticity of callers claiming to be officials and to refrain from transferring money based on threats or pressure.