Cyber fraudsters dupe Delhi-based CA of nearly Rs 76,000

NEW DELHI: A woman chartered accountant from east Delhi was cheated of nearly Rs 76,000 after cyber fraudsters duped her into downloading a malicious mobile application on the pretext of enhancing her credit card limit, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused, Abhishek Kumar Jha (24), Ashish Kumar Ojha (23), Vivek Kumar alias Monu (37) and Ikrar (23), have been arrested, the official said.

The case was registered on February 4 under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on a complaint filed by Sonam Chauhan, a resident of Krishna Nagar in Shahdara, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam said.

According to police, the complainant received a call from an unknown person posing as an agent of a private bank, who offered to increase her credit card limit.

“The caller sent an APK file claiming it to be a genuine bank application. After the complainant installed the file, her mobile phone was compromised and Rs 75,694 was fraudulently debited from her credit card without her consent,” he said. During the probe, it was found that the fraudsters used the compromised credit card to purchase electronic and other items worth the defrauded amount through an online delivery platform. The

items were delivered to Faridabad, Haryana.

Technical analysis of the money trail and beneficiary details obtained from the portal helped police identify the suspects, who were traced to Surajkund area of Faridabad.

Further investigation revealed that several SIM cards used in the offence were activated through a particular point-of-sale outlet. The operator told police that one SIM card was activated by Abhishek Kumar Jha and later handed over to co-accused

Ashish Kumar Ojha and Vivek Kumar alias Monu.

Police said Ojha, a former employee of a credit card sales company, had access to confidential customer data, which he allegedly shared with Vivek Kumar. Using this data, the accused developed fake banking applications resembling genuine apps and induced victims to install them through fraudulent calls. Four mobile phones, including the primary device used in the crime, were recovered from the possession of the accused.