The Ulhasnagar Police Crime Branch dismantled an interstate cyber fraud syndicate on Tuesday, arresting five individuals accused of defrauding hundreds of online consumers across eight states through deceptive high-end smartphone discount portals.
Investigators tracked the syndicate following complaints filed by local residents who transferred advance payments for premium electronic devices that were never delivered. Crime branch officers discovered that the gang operated dozens of sponsored Instagram and Facebook storefronts advertising popular flagship smartphones at steep sixty percent festive discounts.
Once unsuspecting buyers transferred funds via UPI payment gateways, the accused generated fabricated logistics consignment receipts displaying legitimate courier branding to delay police reports. Police raided secret operational apartments in Thane and Navi Mumbai, confiscating twenty-four smartphones, eighty-five activated SIM cards obtained via forged identity credentials, and thirty-six bank passbooks used for laundering stolen proceeds.
Senior police officials stated that the gang had siphoned over two crore rupees from more than four hundred victims nationwide over the past eight months. The arrested suspects were booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act, with judicial custody remand granted for ten days.
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Sources:
https://theprint.in/india/maharashtra-five-cyber-fraudsters-arrested-by-ulhasnagar-police/3037477/