The Ghaziabad Cyber Crime Police have busted an alleged cyber fraud network involved in cheating people on the pretext of insurance policy refunds and arrested two accused. According to the police, the accused allegedly targeted victims in Ghaziabad and two other states, committing fraud worth around ₹23.37 lakh. Three mobile phones allegedly used in the fraud have also been recovered.
The arrests were made during the investigation into a cyber fraud case involving around ₹11 lakh in Ghaziabad. The accused have been identified as Sunil Kumar, a resident of Aligarh currently staying in Badalpur, Gautam Buddh Nagar, and Ashish Sharma, a resident of Faridabad, Haryana. Both were arrested from the Kotwali area.
Posed as Insurance Company Employees and Agents
During questioning, the accused allegedly told investigators that they had worked as callers at an insurance policy broking company in Sector 62, Noida. According to the police, they had access to insurance-related customer data during their employment.
The police suspect that the accused misused this information to target policyholders. They allegedly called customers while posing as employees or agents of insurance companies and promised to help them obtain refunds related to their policies.
The accused allegedly used fake identities while communicating with victims. According to the investigation, Sunil Kumar allegedly posed as an insurance agent using the name ‘KK Pandey’, while Ashish Sharma allegedly used the name ‘Pawan Patel’.
Fake ID Cards Used to Gain Victims’ Trust
According to the police, one of the alleged methods used by the network was to establish credibility before demanding money. The accused allegedly downloaded fake identity cards of insurance company employees from the internet and sent them to victims through WhatsApp.
The fake documents were allegedly used to convince victims that the callers were genuine representatives of an insurance company. After establishing contact, the accused allegedly told victims that they needed to pay various taxes, processing charges and other fees to complete the policy refund process.
The police allege that the money was not directly deposited into the accused persons’ accounts. Instead, victims were allegedly instructed to transfer the funds into mule bank accounts. The money was subsequently moved to other accounts allegedly linked to the network.
Fraud Reported Across Three States
According to the Cyber Crime Police, the investigation has so far revealed three alleged fraud cases involving a total of ₹23.37 lakh.
The cases include around ₹11 lakh allegedly taken from a victim in Ghaziabad, ₹9.87 lakh from Satish Vinayak Nake, a resident of Dombivli in Maharashtra, and ₹2.50 lakh from Brijesh Maurya, a resident of Hyderabad in Telangana.
Investigators are examining the bank accounts, mobile numbers and digital communications allegedly used in these transactions. The probe is aimed at establishing the complete money trail and determining where the fraud proceeds were transferred after being deposited into the mule accounts.
WhatsApp Chats May Reveal Wider Network
The police are examining the accused persons’ WhatsApp chats, mobile phones and other digital evidence to determine how the insurance customer data was obtained and how extensively it was allegedly used to target policyholders.
Investigators are also trying to identify other people who may have been involved in the alleged network and determine whether similar insurance refund scams were carried out in other states.
The investigation is currently focused on tracing the financial transactions and digital links associated with the accused. Further action will be based on evidence recovered during the investigation and information obtained during questioning.
