4 digital arrest scammers reach bank to withdraw 8.5L, nabbed

Mumbai: When a senior citizen was duped of Rs 8.5 lakh in a digital detention fraud recently, investigators decided to employ unconventional tactics to track down the culprits. Instead of getting the beneficiary’s bank account in Surat frozen, as is usual practice, a Mumbai Police team landed in Gujarat overnight and apprehended four of the accused as they attempted to make a withdrawal.Police are looking for the mastermind of the scam.
Bipin Shah (68) was home alone on Dec 21, when he received a phone call from an unknown number. The caller said he was a policeman and claimed that a bank account linked to Shah’s Aadhaar number was used for money laundering. Shah panicked as the Aadhaar number read out by the caller was indeed his. “The audio call was followed by a video call. The man on screen, who was wearing a khaki uniform, produced a document online with Andheri police station written on the letterhead. He told me that I could hire a lawyer or he would appoint one for me,” Shah told TOI.
He was held “hostage” online for four hours and forbidden from speaking to friends or family. He was intimidated into visiting a bank and making an RTGS of Rs 8.5 lakh to the fraudsters. When his daughter arrived home from work, Shah told her what happened. “Telecom providers have been playing pre-recorded ringtones warning people about digital detention scams and fake policemen. I immediately realised that my father was conned and we rushed to Malad police station,” Shah’s daughter said.
A police team, comprising cyber officers Nilesh Bachhav and Deepak Powar, got details about the beneficiary’s bank account in Surat. “Some of the money was withdrawn and we sensed that the accused would be back to withdraw the rest. The bank shared CCTV images of the suspects. We intercepted them when they arrived to make withdrawals in a couple of days,” said ACP Hemant Sawant. “If the bank account was frozen, the accused would have been alerted.”
Of the four accused, Sandeep Kevadiya, Dharam Gohil, and Jai Mordiya scouted for impoverished individuals and paid them Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 to hand over account-related cards and documentation. The accounts were used for receiving defrauded sums. The key accused, Jai Asodriya, allegedly transferred the defrauded sums to the mastermind, who converted it into cryptocurrency. Malad police teams have found chats on the Telegram app between Asodriya and the wanted accused.
With the arrests, Malad police are likely to detect one more cyber fraud case.
Mumbai: When a senior citizen was duped of Rs 8.5 lakh in a digital detention fraud recently, investigators decided to employ unconventional tactics to track down the culprits. Instead of getting the beneficiary’s bank account in Surat frozen, as is usual practice, a Mumbai Police team landed in Gujarat overnight and apprehended four of the accused as they attempted to make a withdrawal. Police are looking for the mastermind of the scam.
Bipin Shah (68) was home alone on Dec 21, when he received a phone call from an unknown number. The caller said he was a policeman and claimed that a bank account linked to Shah’s Aadhaar number was used for money laundering. Shah panicked as the Aadhaar number read out by the caller was indeed his. “The audio call was followed by a video call. The man on screen, who was wearing a khaki uniform, produced a document online with Andheri police station written on the letterhead. He told me that I could hire a lawyer or he would appoint one for me,” Shah told TOI.
He was held “hostage” online for four hours and forbidden from speaking to friends or family. He was intimidated into visiting a bank and making an RTGS of Rs 8.5 lakh to the fraudsters. When his daughter arrived home from work, Shah told her what happened. “Telecom providers have been playing pre-recorded ringtones warning people about digital detention scams and fake policemen. I immediately realised that my father was conned and we rushed to Malad police station,” Shah’s daughter said.
A police team, comprising cyber officers Nilesh Bachhav and Deepak Powar, got details about the beneficiary’s bank account in Surat. “Some of the money was withdrawn and we sensed that the accused would be back to withdraw the rest. The bank shared CCTV images of the suspects. We intercepted them when they arrived to make withdrawals in a couple of days,” said ACP Hemant Sawant. “If the bank account was frozen, the accused would have been alerted.”
Of the four accused, Sandeep Kevadiya, Dharam Gohil, and Jai Mordiya scouted for impoverished individuals and paid them Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 to hand over account-related cards and documentation. The accounts were used for receiving defrauded sums. The key accused, Jai Asodriya, allegedly transferred the defrauded sums to the mastermind, who converted it into cryptocurrency. Malad police teams have found chats on the Telegram app between Asodriya and the wanted accused.
With the arrests, Malad police are likely to detect one more cyber fraud case.