'Kingpin' in cyber fraud held in Noida, may have duped 14 lakh people

The Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) on Sunday claimed to have arrested the kingpin of cyber criminals who duped thousands of people to the tune of over Rs 200 crore after offering them fake lucky draws and other lucrative gifts, an STF officer said on Sunday.

The police said the gang had accessed data and other details of people from their agents working with online shopping websites and insurance companies.

Police have recovered data containing details of around 14 lakhs people, claiming the gang could have duped people of over Rs 200 crore.

A senior STF officer said the arrested accused has been identified as Nandan Rao Patel, from Bihar, who lived in an apartment in Amrapali Sapphire society in Sector 45, Noida, from where he was arrested.

Vishal Vikram, Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP), UP STF, said the gang duped people after obtaining their debit and credit card details and stealing money from their accounts.

"During interrogation, Patel told police that he used to access data of customers with the help of agents working with online shopping portals and hackers to whom he paid Rs 2-3 per customer. The data thus accessed was sold to his clients running fake call centers across Delhi-NCR region," said Vikram.

The officer said that scam callers would call innocent persons, giving an impression that they are calling from online shopping and insurance companies and seek information necessary to transfer their money.

"The gang lured people by offering them fake lucky draws and expensive gifts against the online shopping they have recently made. They asked them to deposit a certain amount as registration fees in order to claim their gift.

"The data contained in his laptop as well as his email has been analysed. We have found that he is in possession of data of almost 14 lakhs people. The fraud could have been worth Rs 200 crore," the officer said.

The accused also told police that he was running an online promotional digital marketing company 'Anik World' at Ansal Corporate Park in Sector 142 of Noida.

--IANS

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