CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu police’s cyber crime wing recently busted a network based in Punjab allegedly operating the ‘TRAI customer executive’ impersonation scam. Two individuals from Chandigarh were arrested for allegedly swindling Rs 1 crore from a victim in the state, according to an official release on Wednesday.
In this case, the victim received a call from a suspect who purported to be a TRAI representative and informed the victim that his phone connection would be suspended and legal action would be taken for involvement in a money laundering case.
To avoid the charges, the victim was instructed to contact a “CBI officer” through WhatsApp video call, during which the fraudster appeared in a police uniform. The fraudster instructed the victim to isolate himself, claiming he was under “digital custody.” He then threatened the victim with various fake documents, including a supposed Supreme Court arrest warrant and documents from the RBI, falsely implicating the victim in a money laundering case involving Naresh Goyal (Jet Airways owner), the release said.
The victim was pressured to deposit money into the fraudster’s bank account to “prove” his innocence. Believing the claims, the victim was coerced into transferring Rs 1 crore as “verification charges,” which was promised to be returned afterwards.
After the transfer, the victim realised the scam and lodged an online complaint through the National Cyber Crime Reporting portal. Based on this, an FIR was registered at Cyber Crime Wing Headquarters, Chennai - SCCIC (State Cyber Crime Investigation Centre).
Subsequently, a team was formed, and the beneficiary bank account involved in the fraudulent transaction was found. The account, belonging to ‘D and D Enterprises,’ is registered in the name of Pardeep Singh (24) from Rajasthan, who was in Chandigarh.
The special team, headed by an Inspector of Police of the Cyber Crime Wing, went to Chandigarh and conducted a joint raid with the Cyber Crime Police Station, Chandigarh. They arrested Pardeep Singh (24) and Yashdeep Singh (24), an associate of the mule account gang’s kingpin.
The investigation revealed that Pardeep Singh and Yashdeep Singh were instructed to open mule accounts by the kingpin, who remains unidentified.
Pardeep Singh had opened seven bank accounts and obtained seven SIM cards in the name of ‘D and D Enterprises’, while Yashdeep Singh had opened over 20 bank accounts with SIM cards in the name of ‘YDS Logistics’, which were provided to the main accused in exchange for a commission of Rs 1 lakh per account. An amount of Rs 23.25 lakh has been retrieved from the accused’s bank account.
Yashdeep Singh and Pardeep Singh have been arrested and sent to judicial custody. Further investigation to trace the primary accused of the scam is ongoing.