Phishing scam: Man who swindled Rs 10L arrested from Noida

The Mattancherry police, which registered a case, started tracking the bank accounts to which the money was transferred.
Image for representational purposes for cyber crimes
Image for representational purposes for cyber crimesPhoto | Express Illustrations
Updated on
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KOCHI: The police on Saturday arrested a 28-year-old man from Uttar Pradesh who swindled Rs 10 lakh from a Mattancherry native using an SMS with a link to a malicious app. The arrested is Dheeraj Giri.

The police said the victim received an SMS on his mobile phone on October 31, containing a link which installed an APK (Android Package Kit) file. The APK file was a malicious app which gained access to mobile banking apps and OTPs.

“The victim, unaware of the cyber fraud, clicked the link and the app was installed on his mobile. Between 10pm on October 31 and 8am on November 31, Rs 10 lakh was transferred from the victim’s bank account to 39 different bank accounts, in 41 transactions,” a police officer said.

The Mattancherry police, which registered a case, started tracking the bank accounts to which the money was transferred. “The accused used the swindled money to buy credits in various online games. Later, he converted these credits to money, which helped him evade the police,” he said.

The police tracked down the URL used to create the APK file. Using the information they received, the police traced two mobile phone numbers, a Gmail account and an IP address used for creating the APK file. “With the help of telecom service providers, the police accessed Call Data Records (CDR) and found that as many as six phone numbers were used by the accused. These SIM cards were used for operating numerous bank accounts, including those used for the fraud. Our investigation also revealed that the same person was involved in a similar cyber fraud reported in Bengaluru, where a person lost Rs 1.20 crore,” a police officer said.

Dheeraj was identified after tracking the mobile phone numbers. Soon, the police reached his premium apartment in Noida and arrested him. A search conducted at the apartment led to the seizure of 20 bank passbooks, numerous ATM cards, chequebooks, PAN cards, and Aadhaar cards, six premium smartphones, and SIM cards. He also owned premium cars and lived a luxury life,” a police officer said. The accused was brought to Kochi and was produced before a court which remanded him in judicial custody. The police will file a petition in the court seeking his custody.

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