NEW DELHI: A cyber fraudster was arrested by Southwest Delhi’s Cyber Cell unit after tricking a professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) into a deceptive scheme.
The police were informed about the fraud through a complaint registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
The arrested accused was identified as Riyaj Ansari (18), son of Wahid Ansari, a resident of Jamtara, Jharkhand. According to the Police, the arrest stemmed from a complaint by Udayanath Sahoo, a professor from Jawaharlal Nehru University, who was deceived after contacting what he believed was Air Asia’s customer care to refund a cancelled flight.
The fraudulent advertisement led him to download a remote access app and submit his bank details on a phishing link, resulting in a substantial financial loss of Rs 7,32,510. This incident triggered a meticulous investigation by the Cyber Cell, leading to Ansari’s capture.
The accused Ansari was involved in creating fake Google advertisements posing as customer care services to defraud victims, culminating in fraudulent transactions exceeding Rs 1 crore. Authorities revealed that Ansari and accomplices, including his brother Mukhtar who remains at large, exploited third-party apps like AnyDesk to gain unauthorised access to victims’ banking credentials.
The operation uncovered multiple mule accounts across various states, used to siphon the stolen funds.
During the raid, police seized six mobile phones, six SIM cards, and documents related to the bank accounts used in the operations. Further technical analysis of the devices indicated involvement in numerous other phishing scams. Ansari’s arrest opens the door to a broader investigation, linking 13 additional complaints registered on the Ministry of Home Affairs portal to this cybercrime network.