Page 2 - Scams

Actor Dino Morea appears before ED over Mithi river desilting case

Bollywood actor Dino Morea on Thursday appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) here in connection with a money laundering probe linked to an alleged Rs 65 crore Mithi river desilting scam, officials said. Morea, who had been summoned by the ED for questioning, reached the federal agency's office at Ballard Estate in south Mumbai at around 10.30 am, an official said. The ED on June 6 conducted searches at more than 15 locations in Mumbai, and Kochi in Kerala, including the premises of Dino Morea in Bandra (West) area here, those linked to his brother Santino, some Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, and contractors among others, official sources earlier said. The searches were conducted in Kochi as one of the companies that provided desilting equipment to the BMC -- Matprop Technical Services Pvt Ltd -- is based in this city, they said. The investigation is being conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources had said. The ED cas

Thane builder duped of Rs 2.7 crore in loan fraud; police launch probe

Police have registered a case against a man for allegedly cheating a builder from Maharashtra's Thane district of Rs 2.7 crore after promising a business loan at a lower interest rate, an official said on Sunday. The 68-year-old complainant from Ambernath, who runs a construction business along with his two sons, needed a Rs 25 crore loan. An acquaintance subsequently introduced him to the accused, who hails from Nashik, the official from Shivajinagar police station said. The accused promised to arrange the Rs 25 crore loan at 7 per cent annual interest through his company and signed an agreement with the victim's firm on August 4, 2017, he said. As per the agreement, the victim was to pay a 10 per cent service charge of Rs 2.5 crore. Between August 2017 and January 2019, the victim transferred a total of Rs 2.7 crore over three instalments into the bank accounts linked to the accused's company, the official said. Despite repeated follow-ups, the promised loan was never sanctione

Shalarth 'scam': Over 500 teachers recruited fraudulently, says SIT

The special investigation team (SIT) probing the alleged 'Shalarth ID' scam in Maharashtra has found that more than 500 teachers were recruited without following laid down procedures, a senior official said on Sunday. Shalarth is a centralised portal of the Maharashtra government to manage payroll and service records of employees at government and government-aided schools, including teachers. Shalarth ID refers to the teacher identification number allotted to such staffers. "The SIT has found that of the 622 teachers appointed, only 75 had been hired following proper procedures. The remaining 547 were appointed using fake IDs after paying Rs 20-30 lakh each. This means the scam may be worth more than Rs 100 crore," the police official said. SIT in charge and assistant commissioner of police Sunita Meshram said the probe, apart from deputy directors in the education department, is now focusing on education officers and teachers. More arrests are likely in this case, Meshram added.

Andhra police arrestes international cyber fraud syndicate, 33 held

The Andhra Pradesh police has busted an alleged international cyber fraud syndicate operating from Achyutapuram here, with the arrest of 33 people and seized high-end tech equipment and Rs 3 lakh cash. Anakapalli district Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Vishnu Swaroop led simultaneous raids at three major locations on Thursday following a complaint from a Village Revenue Officer and intelligence inputs. Items including computers, network devices, and luxury furnishings were seized. This was a full-fledged call center targeting United States (US) citizens through impersonation and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) scams using Amazon support as a cover, Swaroop told PTI on Friday. According to police, job seekers were hired through online portals, trained in impersonation techniques, and then deployed for scam calls to extract sensitive financial information from US citizens The recruits, mostly from Assam and northeast India, were provided food and accommodation. In a week t

Delhi Police plans unified platform to combat rising digital arrest frauds

Delhi Police is formulating a multi-pronged strategy to tackle the rising cases of digital arrest frauds, which includes setting up a centralised complaint mechanism and compiling a database of gangs involved in such crimes, officials said on Saturday. A four-member committee has been constituted to draft guidelines, policies and regulations for the move. Headed by a Special Commissioner-rank officer, the committee includes a convenor of Deputy Commissioner Police rank and two members of Joint Commissioner and Additional Commissioner rank, a senior police officer said. The move comes amid a surge in cases where cybercriminals, posing as police officers, government officials or courier agents, deceive victims by falsely claiming they are involved in legal offences. The fraudsters often conduct video calls simulating legal proceedings and coerce people into transferring large sums of money under threat of arrest. According to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which monitors cybercr

Call for stronger anti-scam education on crypto platforms, shows survey

Over 64 per cent of the respondents polled by global crypto exchange Binance said they used exchanges multiple times a week or in a day

How to identify a scam before it happens? Vijay Kedia has some suggestions

Shares of Gensol Engineering hit the 5 per cent lower circuit for the 16th consecutive session on Thursday

Google removes 5.1 bn ads, 247 mn from India alone to tackle scam surge

The company said it is constantly adapting its methods, including using advanced tools and working closely with its partners, to ensure a safer online environment

Mahadev app case: ED searches premises of EaseMyTrip's Nishant Pitti

The ED said that several top politicians and government officials from Chhattisgarh are suspected to be involved in illegal activities and money deals connected to the app

Cyber fraud alert: Police urge public to cross-check news, avoid scams

Cross-verification of news items and avoiding clicking on suspicious links are among the advisories issued to the public to prevent them from falling prey to cyber frauds, the Cyber Crime Wing of the police department said on Saturday. The agency also appealed to people not to trust any investment schemes or trading platforms promoted through unverified sources, even if they appear to be endorsed by public figures. Citing a recent social media post containing sensational headlines involving celebrities and forged logos of popular news outlets that promote investment opportunities through stock trading, the Cyber Crime Department said the proliferation of such media postswith fake news involving public figures like singer Shreya Ghoshal endorsing investment websitesposes a significant risk to social media users. A team of officials from the department is actively patrolling social media platforms and has been taking down fraudulent handles and websites. "So far, we have identified 25

Online scams drain Rs 4,245 crore in just 10 months, shows govt data

67% increase witnessed from the Rs 2,537 crore recorded last year

Kerala CSR scam: 1,343 cases registered, 6 persons nabbed, says CM Vijayan

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that scamsters collected Rs 281.43 crore from 48,386 people by promising scooters at half the price using CSR funds, but gave vehicles only to 16,348 people as per 386 cases registered into the CSR fund scam in which investigation began. Responding to a query raised by CPI(M) MLA Murali Perunelly on the status of probe into the CSR scam, Vijayan told Assembly that the police have registered 1,343 cases related to the scam till March 12. Of these, 665 cases have been handed over to the Superintendent of Crime Branch, Ernakulam, leading the special investigation team under the supervision of ADGP (Crimes), CM said. The CM was referring to the case where thousands of people were allegedly cheated by falsely promising two-wheelers and laptops at half price using CSR funds. The Chief Minister added that several crucial documents were seized from the prime accused, whose bank accounts have been frozen. The police have arrested six ..

How a Delhi man duped senior citizens by posing as an insurance agent

The accused, Priyesh Giri, confessed that he had committed fraud with more than five senior citizens over the past year, including an elderly woman

NPCI warns against call merging scam: How to remain protected

Always exercise caution when asked to merge calls, especially if the request comes from an unknown source

Siddaramaiah gets clean chit in Muda case, police find no evidence

The Lokayukta police failed to prove charges against the chief minister and his wife Parvathi in the absence of evidence against the couple

NPCI warns users against call merging scams; here's how to protect yourself

The NPCI issues warning against a scam that involves fraudsters tricking people into merging calls, where users unknowingly share their OTPs, leading to financial loss

1,000 scam workers rescued from Myanmar, including Indians: Why it matters

According to Myanmar's Ministry of Information, most of the victims are from Asian countries such as China and India, with some also from East Africa

New India Cooperative Bank's GM held for 'misappropriation' of Rs 122 crore

The Mumbai police on Saturday arrested Hitesh Mehta, General Manager and Head of Accounts of the New India Cooperative Bank, for allegedly misappropriating Rs 122 crore from the bank, officials said. Mehta was placed under arrest by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the city police after being questioned for more than three hours, an official said. He was called to record his statement before the probe agency at its south Mumbai office in connection with the case registered against him and others, he said. Mehta will be produced before a local court on Sunday, the police official added. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday superseded the cooperative bank's board for a year and appointed an administrator to manage its affairs. A day prior to that, it imposed several restrictions on the lender, including on withdrawal of funds by depositors, citing supervisory concerns emanating from the recent material developments in the bank, and to protect the interest of its depositors.

Who is Ananthu Krishnan, the man behind multi-crore fraud in Kerala?

Ernakulam Rural Police arrested 26-year-old Ananthu Krishnan, who allegedly orchestrated a fraud involving promises of laptops & scooters at half price, leading to a loss of about 500-600 crore

Phishing to QR code scam: Key steps to avoid some common UPI-related frauds

As UPI transactions rise, so do frauds. From phishing to fake QR codes, here's how scammers operate and key steps to protect yourself from financial fraud