TIRUPATI: In a recent breakthrough, the Tirupati district Cyber Police have arrested a 34-year-old on Saturday, who is an accused in 23 cybercrime complaints.
The cybercrime police have taken up investigation following a case filed under Sections 406, 419, 420 IPC, and 66 (C) & 66 (D) of the Information Technology Act at Tirupati University police station.
According to the district Superintendent of Police (Cyber Crimes) A Padmalatha, the accused Balaji was a former software engineer, whose modus operandi involved targeting individuals advertising old mobiles on OLX. The accused would intercept the sale listings filed outside Tirupati and repost them for lower prices, claiming they were available in the seller’s vicinity.
Upon finding a potential buyer, Balaji would direct them to the original seller for physical verification. Later, he would persuade the buyer to transfer funds to his account, assuring both the seller and buyer of his connection to the other.
Additionally, the accused devised a cunning plan involving receiving UPI payments. Balaji would ask for UPI IDs of random people, pretending to face technical issues at the ATM and CDM centres.
Later, he would give some money to the people who gave him the UPI IDs, saying it’s a profit he received in a business and kept using their IDs to carry on the criminal activities. In light of these revelations, the CID urged the public to remain vigilant and refrain from sharing bank account or UPI details with unknown individuals. When approached under suspicious circumstances, citizens are urged to report to the nearest police station immediately.