Two arrested for posing as Delhi Jal Board officials, running phishing scam

The case came to the police’s attention after a complaint was filed by a 52-year-old woman on October 22. In her complaint, the victim recalled receiving a text message claiming her water connection would be disconnected unless she updated her account on the Jal Board website. This was followed by a WhatsApp message containing a link to download an APK file named ‘Jal Jeevan’.

Police said the message also instructed her to pay a fee of Rs 9 to update her account. On following the instructions, for which she needed to enter her banking details, she saw quick back-to-back unauthorised withdrawals totaling Rs 4.73 lakh from her account.

The cybercrime unit immediately launched a detailed investigation. “During the probe… relevant details of bank transactions were analysed at length and verified. Further, an analysis of the mobile number from which the WhatsApp text was received showed it originated from Jharkhand,” said DCP (South) Ankit Chauhan.

Police also tracked the money trail and pinpointed two accounts where the stolen money had been transferred. One of the accounts, police said, was found to be making transactions in different parts of Delhi.

Police zeroed in on the suspects’ locations and subsequently arrested Deepak from his residence in Kirari Suleman Nagar, while Pappu was caught in Dumka in Jharkhand. During questioning, the duo allegedly admitted to committing multiple cybercrimes by using fake messages and malicious apps to deceive their victims.

According to police, Ray impersonated a DJB official and communicated with the victims to create a sense of urgency. Deepak handled the financial aspect by withdrawing money using credit cards and transferring the funds to multiple accounts.

When police dug deeper, they found the duo was linked to another case in which a resident of Greater Kailash II was cheated out of Rs 13 lakh using the same modus operandi. Police also discovered additional cases connected to the accused, with reported amounts of Rs 99,000 and Rs 5.32 lakh being fraudulently taken.

Further investigations are underway to identify other potential victims and collaborators in the scam, said police. The duo has been booked under Section 318 (cheating) and 319 (cheating by personation) of the BNS.