Three cybercriminals held for duping man of Rs 10.80L

The Delhi Police have arrested three cybercriminals from the Jamtara region in Jharkhand for allegedly defrauding a Delhi-based man of Rs 10.80 lakh by impersonating credit card officials, officials said on Wednesday.

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The accused, Mujaffar Jilani (27), Aftab Ansari (27), and Md Iqbal Raza (24), all residents of Karmatar in Jamtara, were apprehended after a carefully planned operation. According to the police, officers conducted reconnaissance in traditional tribal attire to blend in with locals and monitored the suspects for hours before making the arrests.

“Jamtara has gained notoriety over the years as a hub for organised cyber frauds in India,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southwest) Amit Goel in an official statement. “We have recovered five mobile phones, six SIM cards and a debit card used in the commission of the crime,” Goel said.

The investigation was launched after a complaint was filed by Palam resident KC Barthwal (49) at the Cyber police station. On April 5, Barthwal received a call from someone posing as an official from a prominent government bank’s credit card division in Mumbai. The caller falsely claimed that Rs 588.82 had been debited from his credit card and convinced him to click a link to either block or activate the card.

“The link led to a phishing website designed to look like the official bank portal. Barthwal, unaware of the fraud, entered his card details, DCP Goel said.

Over the next few days, the victim received another call extracting more personal information. Subsequently, unauthorised transactions amounting to Rs 10.80 lakh were made from his credit card and linked bank account.

Following the FIR, investigators tracked the digital footprint of the accused to the Jamtara region, known nationwide as a hotbed for cybercrime. Technical surveillance confirmed their location, prompting the Delhi Police team to travel to Jharkhand for the covert operation that ultimately led to the arrests.