The Gujarat police have exposed an international cybercrime syndicate that duped citizens of Rs 804 crore and arrested 10 persons from Surat, Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi said on Saturday.
He also handed over Rs 5.51 crore to a few victims who had collectively lost the amount after being conned by the gang that operated from Dubai, Vietnam and Cambodia and targeted people across India.
The state police have launched a war against cybercriminals who prey on people’s hard-earned money, he said.
“This gang used to obtain bank accounts and SIM cards of common citizens by luring them with 1.5-2 per cent commission, and misuse them to commit cyber fraud. The gang has committed 1,549 crimes across the country and defrauded citizens of about Rs 804 crore,” he said.
The gang members made Rs 17.75 crore through 141 digital crimes in Gujarat, the minister said.
As part of the operation to bust the gang, the police have arrested 10 accused persons from Surat. They have recovered 65 mobile phones, 447 debit cards, 529 bank account kits, 686 SIM cards and 16 POS (point of sale) machines, Sanghavi said.
During the event at the Cyber Center of Excellence here, Sanghavi returned Rs 5.51 crore to cyber fraud victims.
One of them, a senior citizen from Vadodara, was promised huge profits in the name of reputable insurance companies. The victim got back his Rs 4.91 crore.
In another case, a senior citizen from Ahmedabad was “digitally arrested” with the threat of implicating her in a drug case. She was kept under house arrest on Skype for 12 days. Police seized Rs 48 lakh from cyber criminals in this case, and the money was returned to the owner.
Besides this, Rs 12.70 lakh lost by a family through a fake trading app called “ROCKCREEAK” was also recovered and returned.
Sanghavi appealed to the public to adopt a “cyber security shield” and call the cyber helpline 1930 within the “golden hour”, the first hour of becoming a victim of any cyber fraud.
The minister said there is no legal provision like “digital arrest” in India, and nobody should be afraid of calls from impersonators threatening legal action.
“Tomorrow night, the entire state of Gujarat will do garba (traditional folk dance) on Operation Sindoor in honour of our Army in one rhythm and one tune,” said the minister.
He requested garba organisers and DJs to play ‘Operation Sindoor’ garba on every street, ‘pol’ (residential clusters) and other venues at the scheduled time and inspire sportsmen to dance to it with pride.
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