Delhi Police Bust APK-Based Cyber Fraud Syndicate; Three Arrested from Ahmedabad

New Delhi: The Cyber Police Station of South District has busted a syndicate allegedly involved in APK-based cyber fraud and arrested three persons from Ahmedabad, recovering 11 credit cards and three mobile phones, Delhi Police said on Monday.

The accused have been identified as Mohd Ismail Ansari, Shaikh Mohammed Nuren and Tarique Ahmad, all residents of Gujarat's Ahmedabad. According to police, the case came to light after a man complained that he was cheated of Rs 6.57 lakh after receiving an SMS containing a fraudulent link. An e-FIR was subsequently registered at Cyber Police Station, South, under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

During the investigation, police analysed the money trail, banking records and technical evidence and traced around Rs 4 lakh of the alleged proceeds through two transactions to two credit cards linked to the accused. Police said the investigation revealed that the accused were allegedly providing multiple credit cards to route fraudulent proceeds through banking channels on a commission basis.

The accused were also allegedly connected with other handlers through WhatsApp and Telegram groups. Technical investigation further revealed that certain WhatsApp numbers associated with the network were linked to the USA, police said. According to police, the alleged syndicate used APK-based fraud, in which victims were induced to install malicious APK files sent through fraudulent messages. The applications allegedly enabled unauthorised access to victims’ mobile devices and banking-related information.

Police said Ansari, a contractual employee of IDBI Bank, allegedly provided multiple credit cards for routing proceeds of cyber fraud. Nuren and Ahmad allegedly supplied or arranged credit cards for commission-based routing of fraudulent transactions. The exact role and identities of the alleged USA-based handlers, along with the complete structure of the alleged international network, are being investigated, police said.

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