Cyber police bust inter-state fraud rings; aspiring influencer among three held

The Cyber Police Station of Central District has cracked two separate inter-state cyber fraud cases, arresting three individuals from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

One of the accused, a 19-year-old aspiring social media influencer with nearly one lakh Instagram followers, allegedly used proceeds from illegal cyber activities to fund his online career.

According to police, the syndicate operated through fraudulent online job offers, fake marketplaces and mule bank accounts used to channel money generated from cybercrime.

Deputy Commissioner of Police, Central District, Nidhin Valsan, IPS, stated one of the cases involved a work-from-home hotel rating scam, in which 28-year-old Smita Verma was defrauded of Rs 31,800. She was lured into paying for prepaid tasks after receiving small initial amounts to gain her trust. Alok Kumar, 32 and Aditya Shukla, 22, were arrested for opening and selling multiple bank accounts to the syndicate, earning commissions ranging from 1.5 to 4 per cent.

In a separate case, Dalip Kumar was cheated of Rs 1,81,500 by 19-year-old Hukum Singh Rawat, also known as Anuj, who posed as an Army official selling a fake tractor on Facebook Marketplace. The accused admitted to selling his personal bank accounts to cyber criminals to support his social media ambitions.

The operation, conducted under the supervision of ACP/Operations and led by Inspector Sandeep Panwar, involved technical surveillance, digital footprint tracking, and financial transaction mapping.

Several bank accounts and digital evidence have been seized. Authorities are currently working to trace the remaining proceeds of the crimes.

The police said the arrested individuals are part of a larger inter-state cyber syndicate. They added investigations were ongoing to identify additional beneficiaries, trace other victims and dismantle the broader network involved in these fraudulent activities.