Bhubaneswar: Unearthing the links to the notorious Jamtara gang, that operates from Jharkhand, the Odisha Crime Branch has arrested three of its operatives from Bhubaneswar. Â
According to reports, the arrested have identified themselves as Pradhum Kumar Mandal, Krishna Kumar Mandal, and Chetlal Mandal, all hailing from the neighbouring state of Jharkhand.Â
During interrogation, the trio confessed to having siphoned a huge amount of money from gullible bank account holders by impersonating themselves as bank officials and collecting crucial bank details on the pretext of KYC update.
What Led To Their Arrest
As per police, the arrested trio was living a lavish lifestyle that was disproportionate to their standard.
On the basis of reliable information about the presence of some suspicious cybercriminals, the police carried out an inquiry and came to know that the trio had reasons to visit or stay in Bhubaneswar. With no source of income, they had rented the top floor of a building since December 2021.
While the probe was underway, the fraudsters somehow came to know about police movement in the locality. Then they tried to flee the area with their baggage. However, before they could give a slip, the police officials nabbed them.
Modus Operandi:
The fraudsters used to acquire a list of phone numbers from suspected sources and call the persons identifying themselves ad bank officials. For this purpose, they used prepaid SIM cards which they frequently keep changing to avoid tracking.
After eliciting bank details from the targets, the fraudsters used to transfer money from the account to various digital payment platforms. Then they used the amount to purchase gift vouchers and redeem the same to buy expensive items from online shopping websites.
Following the same method of deception, the fraudsters have so far contacted more than 4,38,834 people in different states including Odisha. They contacted a large number of people by sending bulk messages (SMS) and through voice calls impersonating bank officials to collect credentials.
Further, the police have also ascertained that the accused were wanted in 171 cases in more than 20 states in the country.
Several mobile phones, sim cards, laptops, debit cards, Smart TV, tablet, etc have been seized from the house the fraudsters were staying in. The CID of Crime Branch has registered a case (2/2022) and relevant sections of the IPC and IT Act.
“The three accused are part of a larger group that keeps moving to various parts of the country to commit cyber frauds without getting arrested,” Odisha Vigilance said.
