Punjab cyber police nab mastermind behind fake portal mimicking mining department’s website
The fake website allegedly created fake receipts and documents to enable the movement of vehicles involved in illegal mining.
The DGP said the website backup, along with data containing details of fake receipts, images of vehicles, mining material sources and destinations, and the computer systems used in the offence, has been recovered. (Express File) The Punjab Police’s cybercrime division recently arrested the prime accused of running a fake portal impersonating the official website of the state government’s mining department to generate counterfeit receipts and forms, facilitating the movement of vehicles involved in illegal mining.
The accused, identified as Gaurav Kumar of Kharar in SAS Nagar, allegedly created a replica of the original official website of the mining department ‘minesgeologypunjab.gov.in’, impersonating it as ‘minesgeologypunjab.in’. The fake website remained operational from November to January, said the police.
Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav said the fake slips even consisted of a barcode/QR scanner code on the lines of the official mining website, which helped the vehicles pass all security checks to curb illegal mining. Initial investigation revealed that the accused, in connivance with a person from Ferozepur, generated over 2,000 fake mining receipts, causing an estimated loss of around Rs 40-50 lakh to the exchequer, he said.
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