Techie dupes over 1,000 with offer to install cell towers
TNN | Updated: Mar 14, 2019, 09:14 IST
Picture used for representational purpose onlyNEW DELHI: Sanjay Kumar wanted to make it big through a startup of his own, but was short of cash. So, this 28-year-old — who had earlier worked as a tech executive with several multinational companies — hatched a plot to earn some easy money. And by the time his little scheme was busted, Kumar and his friends had already duped over 1,000 people across the country, all by launching a website that offered to install mobile towers on private property.
Kumar was nabbed on Tuesday, along with his aides, Arjun Prasad and Santosh Kumar, from their offices in Faridabad, Manesar and Nalanda in Bihar after multiple raids.
Confirming the developments, DCP (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse said a team led by SI Arvind Kumar arrested the accused and seized several debit cards, mobile phones and account-opening kits of different banks. Kumar, the mastermind of the gang, told police that he came up with the idea as he had worked with various tech firms. He was planning to have his own startup on cloud telephony and was told by consultants that he would need at least Rs 20 lakh.
The idea developed when a friend told Kumar about how a fake call centre had duped several people by taking money in lieu of installing mobile towers on private property. Sanjay tweaked the plan and, instead of running a call centre, launched a website — “www.reliancejiotower.net”.
To ensure quick response, Singh prepared a list of frequently asked questions and hired a person to record the answers to these. Then, he created an automated call system where the targets would be asked to press different keynotes to make their inquiries and were given pre-recorded answers. The target would be asked to deposit a registry amount of Rs 14,000 in a particular bank account. An email ID, “info@reliancejiotower.net”, was created through which the “approval letter” was sent.
Kumar and aides carried out this operation successfully for over a year. All bank accounts were opened with fake addresses. However, they came on police radar after a businessman in Dabri grew suspicious and reported the matter to police.
Kumar was nabbed on Tuesday, along with his aides, Arjun Prasad and Santosh Kumar, from their offices in Faridabad, Manesar and Nalanda in Bihar after multiple raids.
Confirming the developments, DCP (Dwarka) Anto Alphonse said a team led by SI Arvind Kumar arrested the accused and seized several debit cards, mobile phones and account-opening kits of different banks. Kumar, the mastermind of the gang, told police that he came up with the idea as he had worked with various tech firms. He was planning to have his own startup on cloud telephony and was told by consultants that he would need at least Rs 20 lakh.
The idea developed when a friend told Kumar about how a fake call centre had duped several people by taking money in lieu of installing mobile towers on private property. Sanjay tweaked the plan and, instead of running a call centre, launched a website — “www.reliancejiotower.net”.
To ensure quick response, Singh prepared a list of frequently asked questions and hired a person to record the answers to these. Then, he created an automated call system where the targets would be asked to press different keynotes to make their inquiries and were given pre-recorded answers. The target would be asked to deposit a registry amount of Rs 14,000 in a particular bank account. An email ID, “info@reliancejiotower.net”, was created through which the “approval letter” was sent.
Kumar and aides carried out this operation successfully for over a year. All bank accounts were opened with fake addresses. However, they came on police radar after a businessman in Dabri grew suspicious and reported the matter to police.
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