Delhi Police have arrested three men from Noida for their alleged involvement in an online investment fraud network that targeted people through social media advertisements, Telegram groups and promises of unusually high stock-market returns.
The arrests were made by the Cyber Police Station in Dwarka after a woman complained that she had transferred ₹5.50 lakh to bank accounts provided by people who claimed they could help her earn high returns from stock investments.
Police recovered 40 mobile phones, 146 SIM cards, 86 debit cards, 28 cheque books, 18 passbooks, three laptops, three passports, ₹1 lakh in cash and other banking material from the accused.
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Social media advertisement led victim to Telegram group
The case began in June when a woman from Sector 16, Dwarka, came across an investment-related advertisement while browsing social media.
She was subsequently added to a Telegram group named “Funds Invest”, where members allegedly shared stock-market tips and promoted investment plans promising attractive returns.
One of the accused later contacted her through WhatsApp and allegedly explained how she could invest through accounts controlled by the network.
The woman transferred ₹3 lakh to an account with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank on July 16 and another ₹2.50 lakh to an account with DCB Bank on July 19.
When the promised investment returns did not materialise, she approached police.
An e-FIR was registered at Dwarka Cyber Police Station on July 19 under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita dealing with cheating, impersonation and criminal conspiracy.
Financial trail led police to Sector 137 in Noida
Investigators followed the beneficiary accounts used to receive the money.
The trail linked one of the DCB Bank accounts to people allegedly connected with the wider network. Technical surveillance and financial analysis eventually led police to a residential society in Sector 137, Noida.
The three accused were identified as Piyush Bala, 28, Bharath G. Poojary, 32, and Suraj Kumar, 24.
Police say the men were allegedly responsible for handling bank-account access, verifying incoming payments and managing financial instruments used by the fraud network.
During questioning, the accused allegedly told investigators that they had come into contact with other associates through Instagram.
Police are now trying to identify those people and determine who supplied the bank accounts, SIM cards and debit cards recovered during the raid.
Why 146 SIM cards and 86 debit cards matter
The scale of the recovery is significant because online investment fraud networks rarely depend on a single phone number or bank account.
SIM cards can be used to create WhatsApp and Telegram accounts, receive banking OTPs and maintain communication with victims.
Multiple bank accounts and debit cards allow stolen money to be split and transferred quickly before banks or police can freeze it.
Such accounts are commonly referred to as mule accounts.
A mule account is an account used to receive or move money on behalf of another person. Some account holders knowingly provide access in exchange for commission, while others may have their identity documents or banking credentials misused.
Police also recovered 28 cheque books, 18 passbooks and three passports, which investigators are examining to determine whether additional identities or accounts were being used.
Six NCRP complaints linked to recovered accounts
During the investigation, police found that bank accounts recovered from the accused were allegedly connected to six complaints already registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
Those complaints were filed from Delhi, Kerala, Maharashtra and Karnataka and involved alleged losses of around ₹4 lakh.
This has expanded the investigation beyond the original ₹5.50 lakh complaint.
Police are now analysing the seized devices and SIM cards to determine how many victims were contacted, how much money passed through the accounts and whether other members of the network were operating from different states.
The structure resembles several other investment fraud cases investigated by Delhi Police.
In December 2025, police arrested three men in another pan-India investment fraud case linked to 165 cybercrime complaints and financial transactions worth ₹6.33 crore. That network also allegedly used bank accounts to route money collected through fake trading schemes.
A separate Greater Noida case in 2025 involved suspects accused of supplying bank accounts, debit cards and pre-activated SIM cards to cybercriminals running digital-arrest and stock-trading scams.
Social media investment fraud remains a recurring pattern
The method used in the Dwarka case follows a familiar sequence.
A victim sees an online advertisement, is moved to a Telegram or WhatsApp group and is shown messages or screenshots suggesting that other members are earning large profits.
The victim is then encouraged to transfer money into bank accounts provided by the operators.
Fraudsters may initially show fake profits on a website or application, but when the victim tries to withdraw money, additional taxes, fees or investment requirements are often introduced.
The Dwarka investigation is now focused on tracing the complete flow of money and identifying who controlled the accounts and communication channels behind the operation.
What this means for you: Do not transfer investment money to personal or unfamiliar bank accounts provided through Telegram or WhatsApp. Before investing, verify that the platform and intermediary are registered with SEBI and use only official payment channels linked to the regulated entity.
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