Mumbai police bust gang involved in digital arrests, cyber fraud; 12 held

Mumbai, Aug 22 (PTI) The Mumbai police have busted a cyber fraud racket by arresting 12 persons, including a couple, who allegedly duped people in different parts of the country to the tune of Rs 60.82 crore, an official said on Friday.

Of the accused, who were apprehended recently, five had allegedly sold their bank accounts and SIM cards, which were used for cyber fraud, the official said.

The arrests were made following the Mumbai crime branch's raid at an office in the western suburb of Kandivali on August 12, in which officials seized SIM cards and bank passbooks, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Detection) Raj Tilak Roshan.

The gang had purchased 943 bank accounts, of which 180 were used for the frauds, he said, adding that the accused had been using this modus operandi since last year.

Five accused were arrested on August 12, and the remaining were apprehended during the probe, he said.

The official said that the gang procured SIM cards and bank accounts for Rs 7,000-8,000 each and used them for digital arrests, online shopping and share trading frauds.

The bank accounts and SIM cards were used to dupe people across the country to the tune of Rs 60.82 crore, which includes Rs 1.67 crore fraud in Mumbai and Rs 10.57 crore in the rest of Maharashtra, the official said. PTI DC ARU