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Delhi man duped of Rs 999 in job scam 7 years ago — goes on to con 300 in copycat fraud
Accused arrested during Delhi Police's recent anti-cyber crime operation 'Cyber Hawk'
The incident came to the fore after a resident of Shaheen Bagh alleged that he was duped of Rs 13,500 on the pretext of being provided a job.
Mohammad Mehtab Alam (36) was duped of Rs 999 in 2018. Seven years later he ended up being arrested in a job scam, during ‘Cyber Hawk’, a recent anti-cyber crime operation carried out by the Delhi Police.
In 2018, Alam had approached the police after he fell prey to a similar scam. The police, however, allegedly did not look into the matter on priority as the amount he lost was small.
Alam was among three persons recently arrested by the Southeast district police in connection with the scam, with officers stating that transactions worth around Rs 3 crore were detected.
“They duped people on the pretext of providing employment. So far, we have identified around 300 victims. We have detected transactions worth around Rs 3 crore, and this can go up. A total of 16 bank accounts have also been identified. We have seized 23 debit cards, a hard disk, 18 laptops and 20 mobile phones,” said DCP (South-East) Dr Hemant Tiwari.
Sandeep Singh (35) and Sanjeev Choudhary (36) were arrested along with Alam. Two others, identified as Harshita and Shivam Rohilla, were bound down in the case, the DCP added.
Alam started duping people since 2019, police said, adding that he confessed to running a call centre-style fake job racket.
The incident came to the fore after a resident of Shaheen Bagh alleged that he was duped of Rs 13,500 on the pretext of being provided a job.
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He had sent the amount to an account and notices were served to the bank to obtain the account holder’s details, police said. After the mobile number linked to the account was obtained, police zeroed in on Harshita. During questioning, she said that her account was opened and the SIM was purchased in her name and handed over to Sanjeev. Police analysed her call data records and another number belonging to Shivam was traced to Amar Colony. Probe also revealed Sanjeev’s involvement.
Alam was subsequently identified as the kingpin who was operating from Mayur Vihar Phase-3.
Alam had employed telecalling staff to contact victims. They duped victims on the pretext of jobs at fake companies.
“Forensic extraction of digital devices, bank statement mapping, UPI/wallet tracing and CCTV requisitions at ATM cash-out locations are in progress to establish the full transaction trail and identify additional conspirators and beneficiaries,” added the DCP.
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“Alam initially started with duping people of amounts lower than Rs 2,000, and gradually increased the amount. He said he was aware that his greed would land him in trouble some day,” an officer privy to the investigation said.
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