Bihar police are grappling with a surge in high-value cyber fraud cases linked to phishing applications and fake investment platforms allegedly operated by cybercriminal networks in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos. In just the past three months, scams using fraudulent apps, cloned websites, and phishing links have drained approximately ₹2 crore from victims across northern Bihar.
Police say the fraudsters disguise their operations by creating lookalike websites of well-known companies and share-trading applications, tricking victims into making large transfers. Most of the siphoned funds are routed to ghost bank accounts in states such as Rajasthan and Gujarat, making the recovery and tracing of the culprits challenging.
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Multiple Victims, Same Modus Operandi
One of the largest reported losses involves Dipanshu Kumar, a teacher at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Kharauna, who was cheated of ₹17.35 lakh. The scam began with a phishing link resembling the US-based real estate site Rent.com. The fraudsters posed as investment managers, assigning tasks that required increasing deposits. Transfers were traced to accounts in Sriganganagar and Chittorgarh (Rajasthan) and Bhuj (Gujarat), with preliminary evidence linking the operation to Cambodia.
In another case, businessman Santosh Kumar of Bhagwanpur Shrirampuri, Muzaffarpur, was targeted via a fake mobile app mimicking the popular UPI service MobiKwik. Upon downloading the application, his mobile phone was compromised, leading to a ₹5.63 lakh theft. The stolen funds were funnelled into accounts in multiple states, with police finding initial evidence of foreign coordination.
Doctor Ajay Kumar of Mithanpura fell victim to a cloned stock trading application. After receiving a WhatsApp message promising high returns on investments, he deposited ₹3.36 lakh, which was later transferred to ghost accounts in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Noida. Investigators have linked this fraud to networks in Laos.
International Cyber Rings Evading Law Enforcement
According to Cyber DSP Himanshu Kumar, most phishing scams in the region are traced to foreign cybercriminals who operate through complex bank account chains. These accounts are opened under false identities, making it difficult to establish a direct link to the perpetrators.
While police continue to follow banking trails, they acknowledge that the cross-border nature of these scams, coupled with advanced anonymization tactics, has hampered progress. Complaints are being logged at cyber police stations in the Tirhut and Champaran ranges and on the National Cyber Crime Portal, but no major breakthroughs have been reported so far.