Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has busted a cyber fraud syndicate that operated by procuring SIM cards and bank accounts using fake identities. With links suspected to stretch beyond Indian borders, the arrest of three young men exposes a shadow economy fuelling online scams.
A Hotel Sting and a Digital Trail
In a tightly coordinated operation, the Crime Branch of Delhi Police arrested three individuals for creating fake bank accounts and issuing SIM cards on forged documents—critical tools in the cybercriminal ecosystem. The arrests were made on May 24 outside Crowne Plaza Hotel in Mayur Vihar, East Delhi, following a tip-off about a scheduled handover of forged bank account kits.
The operation centered around 30-year-old Ujjwal Pandey from Chandan Nagar, Krishna Nagar, allegedly the key link in the syndicate. Acting on intelligence, a Crime Branch team tracked and apprehended Pandey along with his two accomplices—Gaurav Barua (24) from Trilokpuri and Yug Sharma (18) from Pocket-2, Mayur Vihar Phase 1. The three were found with a cache of fake SIM cards, bank account kits, mobile phones, and debit cards, some registered under fictitious or stolen identities.
The authorities suspect that the materials were meant for online fraudsters who use them to impersonate victims, conduct phishing operations, and bypass Know-Your-Customer (KYC) checks.
Forging a Digital Identity: The Modus Operandi
According to police sources, the accused had perfected a mechanism to churn out fake identities that could pass through basic verification checks at both telecom and banking institutions. Ujjwal Pandey allegedly sourced forged documents and, through unknown intermediaries, acquired active SIM cards and opened multiple bank accounts under aliases.
These assets were then sold to cybercriminals for use in online scams—ranging from phishing schemes and investment frauds to impersonation-based blackmail. One of the phones seized had login credentials for several bank accounts, suggesting an elaborate operational model involving layered digital transactions to avoid detection.
Gaurav and Yug, the two younger accused, told police they were there to collect the forged instruments from Pandey. Each item—SIM card, checkbook, debit card—was reportedly priced based on its bank or telecom provider. The Crime Branch believes this was part of a larger black market operation that functioned like an underground digital bazaar for cybercrime tools.
The Expanding Web: Suspected Foreign Links and Institutional Gaps
What makes this case particularly troubling is the suspicion of international links. Officials indicated that the syndicate might be connected to foreign handlers, possibly operating from South East Asia or the Gulf, where such cyber fraud rings often coordinate their operations. The use of international debit cards and the pattern of digital communication found on the seized devices bolster this hypothesis.
Crime Branch sources also revealed plans to question employees of certain banks and telecom providers to determine whether the fraud was enabled through negligence—or complicity. The investigation will examine the lapse in KYC processes, especially when multiple accounts and SIMs were opened under the same fake identities.
While the three suspects are now in custody, police raids are underway to locate their associates and possible hideouts across Delhi-NCR. A senior Crime Branch officer noted, “We believe this is just one cell of a much larger cyber fraud network that is exploiting regulatory vulnerabilities and digital blind spots.”
The fusion of fake documents, identity theft, and a booming underground market of ‘fraud kits’ presents a daunting challenge to law enforcement. With connections suspected beyond Indian borders, the Delhi Crime Branch’s action may just be the first step in unraveling a global web of digital deceit.