NEW DELHI: A few weeks ago, a woman from east Delhi lost over Rs 23 lakh to crooks who promised high returns on her investment. The woman had been lured through an Instagram link and was subsequently added to a Telegram channel. She was then put in touch with “finance advisers” who would call her up and ask her to invest money in cryptocurrency and the share market.
The con started off with a deposit of Rs 1,000 by the woman. Her money almost doubled in no time, prompting her to make further deposits. Her ‘account page’ showed good returns on investment of a few lakh rupees for a few days but then it was ‘frozen’ due to some ‘stock market regulations’, she was told. The money had to be apparently left untouched for some time and more investment was needed to ‘unlock’ it.
Amount stolen from woman deposited in 11 different banks
The woman then took a loan of Rs 15 lakh and invested it as per the directions of her ‘financial adviser’. These advisers would claim to be representatives of firms like Binance etc. The victim realised she had been duped when her bank’s home branch enquired about the large transactions, informing her that the accounts she had transferred money to were “suspicious”.
She reported the events to police following which an FIR was registered and investigation initiated. DCP (northeast) Joy Tirkey formed a team comprising inspectors Vijay Kumar and others to trace the suspect/s.
Technical surveillance revealed that the cheated amount was deposited in 11 different banks, with Rs 9,64,000 credited to an ICICI Bank corporate account in Meerut, which saw transactions of around Rs. 1.4 crore in a single day. Besides analysing bank transactions and details of the numbers used to contact the victim, the team traced the IP logs of debit transactions as well. The exercise led them to a rented premises in northeast Delhi’s Maujpur, from where they nabbed a man named Mahammed Daud (29).
Cops recovered SIM cards, debit cards, passbooks, cheque books, stamps, a PAN card and a smartphone from the suspect. “Additionally, Rs 8.6 lakh in his bank account was frozen. The remaining amount was transferred to different accounts by him and his associates,” DCP Tirkey said.
“The accused used others’ WiFi networks to make calls to victims via Telegram assuming he would remain undetected. He was part of a nexus that cheated the victim by promising high returns on investments in the share market through an online platform,” the DCP added. During interrogation, he revealed that he and his associates randomly connected to ‘VIOM networks’ via WiFi connections of existing users in his locality, paying Rs 10 each time to connect.
Daud, a Class 12 pass-out, worked as a sales executive at a private company in Dilshad Garden. It was during the job that he came in touch with some scammers and joined them. He would rent the accounts in which the siphoned money was transferred and keep switching accounts and mobile numbers frequently to dodge cops. Police are now looking for his aides and raids are being conducted at several places, an officer confirmed.
The con started off with a deposit of Rs 1,000 by the woman. Her money almost doubled in no time, prompting her to make further deposits. Her ‘account page’ showed good returns on investment of a few lakh rupees for a few days but then it was ‘frozen’ due to some ‘stock market regulations’, she was told. The money had to be apparently left untouched for some time and more investment was needed to ‘unlock’ it.
Amount stolen from woman deposited in 11 different banks
The woman then took a loan of Rs 15 lakh and invested it as per the directions of her ‘financial adviser’. These advisers would claim to be representatives of firms like Binance etc. The victim realised she had been duped when her bank’s home branch enquired about the large transactions, informing her that the accounts she had transferred money to were “suspicious”.
She reported the events to police following which an FIR was registered and investigation initiated. DCP (northeast) Joy Tirkey formed a team comprising inspectors Vijay Kumar and others to trace the suspect/s.
Technical surveillance revealed that the cheated amount was deposited in 11 different banks, with Rs 9,64,000 credited to an ICICI Bank corporate account in Meerut, which saw transactions of around Rs. 1.4 crore in a single day. Besides analysing bank transactions and details of the numbers used to contact the victim, the team traced the IP logs of debit transactions as well. The exercise led them to a rented premises in northeast Delhi’s Maujpur, from where they nabbed a man named Mahammed Daud (29).
Cops recovered SIM cards, debit cards, passbooks, cheque books, stamps, a PAN card and a smartphone from the suspect. “Additionally, Rs 8.6 lakh in his bank account was frozen. The remaining amount was transferred to different accounts by him and his associates,” DCP Tirkey said.
“The accused used others’ WiFi networks to make calls to victims via Telegram assuming he would remain undetected. He was part of a nexus that cheated the victim by promising high returns on investments in the share market through an online platform,” the DCP added. During interrogation, he revealed that he and his associates randomly connected to ‘VIOM networks’ via WiFi connections of existing users in his locality, paying Rs 10 each time to connect.
Daud, a Class 12 pass-out, worked as a sales executive at a private company in Dilshad Garden. It was during the job that he came in touch with some scammers and joined them. He would rent the accounts in which the siphoned money was transferred and keep switching accounts and mobile numbers frequently to dodge cops. Police are now looking for his aides and raids are being conducted at several places, an officer confirmed.