Three arrested for online fraud, ₹62,000 recovered

Three persons have been arrested for allegedly stealing money by tricking people into sharing their ATM card details, the police said on Monday.

They had hidden the stolen money in the cap of a ceiling fan, the police added.

The accused, Binod Kumar Rajak (19), Naresh Rana (35), and Deepak Mandal alias Deepu (22), all residents of Jharkhand, were arrested on Friday from their village Girdih, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Shibesh Singh said adding that they were brought to Delhi on Saturday.

Unknown caller

The police said that they received a complaint from one Dharamvir Singh on March 22, resident of Dwarka sector 13, alleging that he received a call from an unknown number stating that his ATM card has been blocked.

“The complainant said that the caller introduced him as Punjab National Bank’s employee. He tricked him into giving his card details and asked for One Time Password [OTP], which the caller said was essential for a transaction to unblock the card,” said Mr. Singh.

Following this, Mr. Dharamvir received a message on his phone that ₹55,000 has been debited from his account, the officer added.

During investigation, the police sought details of the transferred money and the phone number from which the complainant received the call.

E-wallet

“It was discovered that amount was transferred to an e-wallet and further to bank accounts of Binod and Naresh in Jharkhand. The call details also showed that it was made from Giridih,” the DCP added.

With the help of technical surveillance, the location was traced and teams were sent to Jharkhand from where the trio was arrested.

“During search, five mobile phones and ₹62,000 were recovered from Deepak’s house. He had kept the money in the upper cup of a ceiling fan to hide it,” Mr. Singh said.

The police said that the accused have duped several others with the same modus operandi.