Mumbai, March 10: Mumbai Police's cyber crime branch has arrested 34-year-old Bharat Deepak Chavan for allegedly defrauding a senior citizen of ₹1.12 crore. Chavan reportedly lured the victim with promises of high returns on stock market investments. The police have also recovered ₹82 lakh from Chavan's multiple bank accounts.

Modus Operandi and Arrest

The police investigation revealed that Chavan opened several bank accounts where he deposited the stolen money between December 2023 and February 2024. The victim, 68-year-old Sandeep Deshpande, approached the police after Chavan, whom he met through a WhatsApp group promising high stock market returns, started demanding additional fees under the guise of taxes before releasing supposed profits.

Deshpande, who had expressed interest in investing in the stock market, became suspicious and reported the incident to the cyber cell. Based on his complaint, a case was registered against Chavan under cheating and IT Act provisions. The police traced Chavan using technical evidence and apprehended him from Bandra. Investigations are ongoing.

Surge in Cyber Crime

The police highlighted the rising trend of cyber crimes in India. They stressed that a lack of awareness and the allure of quick wealth make many people vulnerable to such scams. As per the NCRB report, cyber crime cases in India rose by 25% in 2022 compared to 2021, with over 65,000 cases registered. The authorities urged citizens to be cautious of individuals offering unrealistic investment opportunities.

New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) In a major development in the Mahadev Online Books betting money laundering case, one of the owners of the app, Ravi Uppal has been detained by the Dubai Police in UAE, sources said.

The sources said that Uppal has been detained on the basis of the Red Notice issued against him by the INTERPOL on the request of the Indian financial probe agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

However, the ED sources remained tight-lipped.

Uppal is being probed by the ED in a money laundering case linked to the alleged illegal betting apart from the Chhattisgarh Police and Mumbai Police.

The ED in October this year had filed a charge sheet against Uppal and another promoter Sourabh Chandrakar, before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Chhattisgarh's Raipur.

As per the ED, the projected proceeds of crime in this case is about Rs 6,000 crore.

New York, Aug 29 (IANS) A 46-year-old Indian-origin doctor of dental surgery in California has pleaded guilty to stealing $500,000 Covid-19 relief money and using it for personal expenditures, such as investments.

Ranjan Rajbanshi, who ran a dental practice in Bakersfield and Santa Barbara, received over $850,000 in Covid relief money from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) from April 2020 through February 2022.

He represented to the government that he would only use the relief money for specified business purposes such as facility costs, payroll, and protective equipment for him and his staff, a release by US attorney's office for Eastern District of California stated last week.

Rajbanshi subsequently used $500,000 of the relief money for improper personal expenditures such as investments.

He has agreed to pay that money back to the government before his sentencing. He is scheduled to be sentenced by US District Judge Ana de Alba on December 4, and faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and fine of $250,000.

The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Last month, around 14 people, including several Indian-origin business owners and employees, were charged in a $53 million fraud scheme involving a Covid-19 pandemic relief programme in Texas.

The case was considered the largest investigated by the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee (PRAC) Fraud Task Force thus far.

Set up on May 17, 2021, the task force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud.

New Delhi, Aug 26 (IANS) WhatsApp users in India on Saturday witnessed a new wave of scam where cyber-criminals started calling people on the platform from fake US numbers, pretending to be their senior office executives and colleagues, thus trying to give their modus operandi a new level of authenticity.

People working for a leading media company in the Capital, and even those who have quit the organisation, received numerous such fake international calls -- this time from US-based fake phone numbers -- from top executives, asking them to start conversation.

“Please get back to me as soon as you get my text, thanks,” read such messages, when names of the top executives.

This time, the international WhatsApp fake calls started with +1 (404) which is the calling code of Atlanta, Georgia, +1 (773) which is the code of Chicago, Illinois, and more.

In May this year, millions of WhatsApp users in India were left baffled at the amount of international spam calls they received, leaving many at the risk of financial and personal loss.

These spam calls with international numbers, mostly from African and Southeast Asian countries, along with fake messages from unknown users, flooded WhatsApp and Indians had nowhere to go.

Meta-owned WhatsApp has close to 500 million users in India.

Although the mobile numbers showed country codes of Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Ethiopia, it is not necessary that these calls are actually coming from these countries.

Most of these calls started with +251 (Ethiopia), +62 (Indonesia), +254 (Kenya), +84 (Vietnam) and other countries.

Another scam that is still being reported in India is that of receiving job offers via WhatsApp messages.

New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) Thirty eight years after a fraud of Rs 3.82 crore was committed by some senior Army and Air Force officials in the name of local purchases, a Special CBI judge in Lucknow awarded three years rigorous imprisonment to eight accused, including, a former Army Major, ex-Lieutenant Colonel (commander works engineer), and garrisons engineer of military engineering services for committing fraud.

Nagpur, July 23 (IANS) The Nagpur Police are on a hunt to track a Gondia-based bookie who allegedly cheated a Nagpur businessman of Rs 58 crore in illegal online betting, police said.

Following a complaint lodged by the victim, the Nagpur Police raided the bookie, identified as one Sonu Navratan Jain, alias Anant, but he had escaped shortly before the police team landed there on Saturday.

Nagpur Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar told mediapersons that a raid on the bookie's premises led to the seizure of Rs 14-crore cash, 4 kg gold bars and 200 kgs silver, the exact value of which is being ascertained.

The police suspect that Jain may have fled to Dubai or some other country and a further probe is on to find out if there are more victims lured and cheated by him.

As per investigations, Jain had allegedly been investing money on behalf of the businessman in return for good returns, but later claimed that there were losses.

When the worried businessman demanded his money back, Jain refused after which the victim lodged a complaint with the Nagpur Cyber Police, according to Kumar.

The online crime reported from a remote tribal area like Gondia has caused concerns and the police are keeping tabs about the modus operandi of such sly tricksters who trap gullible people and dupe them of large sums of money.

In Ahmedabad, the owner of a paper company has been taken into custody over allegations of perpetrating a fraud amounting to Rs. 3.55 crore. The charges stem from the owner's failure to pay for goods worth several crores of rupees. The investigation of this fraud complaint has been assigned to the Economic Offenses Prevention Branch of the Crime Branch, who made the arrest.

The complainant, Babulal Mehta, a resident of the Madhupura area of Ahmedabad, initiated business discussions with Vimal Patel at the behest of his friend, Vasimbhai Vadavariya. This new association led to Patel placing an order for a truckload of craft paper from Mehta. As per the agreed trading terms, payment was to be made within a month of the goods being dispatched.

Initially, Mehta dispatched between 12 to 15 tonnes of craft paper, to which Patel responded with timely payments. However, between February and May, Mehta sent a total of 45 carts of craft paper worth Rs. 4.70 crore to Patel. Out of this, Patel paid only Rs. 1.15 crore, leaving Rs. 3.55 crore unpaid.

Patel then issued eight cheques, each worth two crores, all of which were returned for insufficient funds. Following this, Mehta filed a case in court, accusing Patel of fraud for withholding the remaining Rs. 1.55 crore. The Anti-Economic Offenses Wing of the Crime Branch has since taken Patel into custody and is proceeding with further action.

Ahmedabad, June 6 (IANS) Gujarati singer and music director, Binny Sharma, has become the latest victim of an online fraud scam, resulting in the loss of his prized SUV worth a whopping Rs 40 lakhs.

The artist, known for his voice and performances, recently found himself entangled in a distressing ordeal involving fraudulent movers and packers. .

In a heartfelt plea shared on social media, Binny opened up about his distressing situation and sought assistance from his followers.

"I usually do not ask for favours but I find myself in a difficult situation and I desperately need assistance. I have fallen victim to a scam orchestrated by a fraudster, and now I need support to get justice."

The incident took place when Binny had to load his SUV for transportation from Himachal to Ahmedabad.

He is planning to lodge an FIR for the theft of his car, as well as the extortion of money.

"I can't tell you how frustrating it is getting. The transport guy stopped picking up my calls and lately trying to extort more money than the invoice amount to deliver the car. I have been a victim of the movers and packers scam. I have been dealing with this for past few days hoping that the guy would deliver but I think it's high time," he added.

"I have filed a cybercrime complaint and a consumer forum grievance against Agarwal Express movers and packers and move my car portal. Also, I'm about to file an FIR for theft of my car and extortion of money against holding my property/possession and threats of damaging my car if I don't pay more money," he concluded.

Binny Sharma's journey in the music industry has been nothing short of impressive.

From his early days as a radio jockey hosting a popular show called 'My World' to sharing the stage with renowned artists like Sunidhi Chauhan, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, and Arijit Singh, his talent and passion for music have earned him a dedicated fanbase.

New Delhi, May 10 (IANS) A 39-year-old woman from Bengaluru fell victim to a fraud in Delhi, as she was duped of her valuables and cash by a man she met on a matrimonial website, an official said on Wednesday.

The woman identified as Vijay Laxmi, who works as a cabin crew member in an airline, said that when she came to meet the accused in Delhi, he fled away with her gold jewellery worth Rs 18 lakhs, Rs 15,000 cash and even withdrew Rs 58,000 from her ATM cards.

The incident occurred on May 7.

According to the FIR accessed by IANS, she got in touch with one Anshul Jain through matrimonial website Jeevansathi.com 15 days before she met him.

"We started talking on WhatsApp. He introduced himself as a businessman in NCR and expressed his desire to marry me. Three days ago, he invited me to Delhi to meet his family at a wedding function. He asked me to bring appropriate dresses and jewellery," she said in her complaint.

On May 7, she reached Delhi, and Jain came to pick her up at T-2 IGI airport in his orange Tata Punch car. "We went to the Aerocity food court and had some snacks. After that, when we returned to the car, he told me that something seemed wrong with the car's tyre and asked me to get out and check. As soon as I stepped out of the car, he sped away, taking my valuables," the FIR read.

Laxmi alleged that Jain took away 300 gms of gold jewellery, her phone, three ATMs, Rs 15,000 cash and her airline Airport Entry Card (AEP). After that he transferred Rs 40,000 in four transactions from Canara Bank and Rs 18,000 from ICICI bank.

"I am a cabin crew member in an airline. Now I don't have a single ID or my mobile phone. Jain deceived and cheated me, fraudulently taking away the aforementioned items," the FIR added.

A senior police official said that they are investigating the case and an FIR has been registered under section 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code at IGI police station.

Ahmedabad - A case of fraudulent activities involving the misuse of familial ties has emerged in the city. A brother-in-law allegedly forged his sister-in-law's signature to create a fake power of attorney in order to secure a ₹10 lakh subsidy for his company's machinery. The incident has raised concerns about the increasing cases of social fraud.

Ranjanben Patel, originally from Mumbai, is a sleeping partner in a private company, with her brother-in-law, Kishorebhai, as a working partner. When Ranjanben's son, Harshit, requested access to the company's accounts, Kishorebhai consistently refused and made excuses to avoid providing the information. The company's accountant also failed to provide any documentation other than the balance sheet.

Suspicious of his uncle's behavior, Harshit conducted an investigation and discovered that Kishorebhai had created a power of attorney with a forged signature of Ranjanben. A handwriting expert confirmed that the signature was fake. It was revealed that Kishorebhai had used the fraudulent power of attorney to secure the machinery subsidy, with the grant amount of ₹10 lakh being approved into the company's account.

Following these revelations, Harshit filed a complaint at the Karanj police station against his uncle for forging the power of attorney and obtaining the subsidy through dishonest means.

New Delhi, March 26 (IANS) A man who duped 50 to 60 women devotees on the pretext of providing them a tour package to Vaishno Devi has been held by the Delhi Police.

The accused identified as Madhur Kumar used to target women devotees during Navratri and other festivals.

Rohit Meena, DCP of Shahdara district, said that the accused used to spread captivating message on social media to dupe women devotees.

The official said that they got a complaint in this respect from one Anamika Sharma. She told the police that she got a message on a Facebook group about a tour package to 'Mata Vaishnao Devi'.

"The tour offer being very captivating i.e Rs 1300 per person including bus charges and meals. And after reaching Vaishno Devi, horse service was also said to be available. She decided to take the offer and deposited the amount online on the provided QR Code by the accused in the message on the Facebook group," the official said.

The victim stated that gathering point of the journey was near Shahadara Metro Station from where they would board a luxury bus.

On the decided date when the complainant along with other 24 women reached on the scheduled place, she found that there was no bus and organiser was also missing.

Soon she found a group of other women was also standing there in search of the same bus. They called on the accused number which was switched off.

"There, they all came to know that they all have deposited the amount on the same mobile number/QR Code Scanner of the cheater and have been cheated/duped on pretext of 'VAISHNO DEVI YATRA AND DARSHAN'. Total 50 to 60 women devotees were cheated by the accused using the same modus operandi so far," the official said.

The police collected all the relevant information regarding the incident from the cheated victims. All Bank details and number of the cheater were analysed. After the analysis and through technical evidences, police succeeded in identifying the cheat as Madhur Kumar, a resident of Panipat, Haryana. The team raided on his hideout and arrested him from Panipat.

"Madhur told the police that he wanted to make easy money and duped women devotees on the pretext of sending them to Vaishno Devi tour.

He further disclosed that he shared the QR code scanner to the victims, this QR code belonged to his brother-in-law namely Tanu who lived at Kurukshetra. From Tanu, the cheated amount was disbursed to various accounts through UPI. Madhur would later receive his share in cash from them," the police said.

Further from the mobile phone of the accused, it was revealed that he was preparing next Vaishno Devi Tour in the month of April by using same modus operandi.

Surat - A retired banker from Surat has fallen victim to a stock market fraud, losing Rs. 32.65 lakhs. The victim, a 67-year-old resident of Adajan, was lured into investing in the stock market with promises of high profits by a fraudster who identified himself as Raj Patel. Patel promised good returns and low fees if the victim opened a demat account with broker Krishna Sheth, who was vouched for by another customer, Shahidbhai.

Once the victim opened the account and made a profit of Rs. 15,000 on a Rs. 40,000 investment, he was asked to invest more. The fraudster built trust by promising higher profits but failed to deposit them in the victim's account. The victim was then threatened with extortion and asked to transfer margin money. The fraudster subsequently traded gold and silver, leading to a loss of Rs. 41 lakhs.

The victim lodged a complaint with the Surat Cyber Cell after realizing that he had been duped. The cell's team investigated the matter and arrested Rakesh Kantibhai Shankarbhai Prajapati from Visnagar in Mehsana district.

The Surat Cyber Cell has urged the public to be cautious and not fall for schemes that promise quick profits. Financial transactions should be made only after proper verification, and any suspicious activity should be reported to the authorities.

The incident highlights the need for greater awareness of financial scams and the importance of being vigilant while making investments. The authorities must take strict action against those who engage in such fraudulent activities to protect innocent victims.