Cyber Cell busts phishing fraudster

NEW DELHI: The Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police have arrested a fraudster for cheating innocents through phishing links. The police were informed about the fraud through a complaint registered on the National Cyber Crime Portal.

The accused was identified as Amrul Ansari (24), a resident of Jamtara, Jharkhand.

According to the Police, on March 19, the victim Neelam Gupta, a resident of Anand Niketan, Delhi, filed an online complaint. She reported that she received a call from an unknown number, claiming her Indian Post parcel was delayed, and she needed to pay Rs 3 to resolve the issue. The caller sent her a link via WhatsApp for the payment.

The victim Gupta entered her details on the application, but the payment did not go through. Subsequently, she received calls from her bank, informing her that Rs 1,79,000 and Rs 21,000 had been debited from her account. Realising she had been duped, Gupta reported the incident.

During the investigation, it was found that the amount had been transferred to a Canara Bank account belonging to Saurabh Tripathi in Mumbai.

Technical analysis revealed that the phone number used in the fraud was active in Sindri, Jamtara, and linked to multiple devices. Analysing the IMEI of these devices, investigators discovered 14 active SIM cards in one Apple iPhone 7, one of which was traced back to Amrul Ansari.

Led by Sub-Inspector Love Deswal, a Delhi Police Cyber Cell team conducted raids in Jamtara, a notorious cybercrime hub. Despite challenges, they arrested Amrul Ansari early, seizing four smartphones and multiple SIM cards. Ansari employed phishing tactics, posing as bank representatives to dupe victims into transferring money through bank accounts.