Bhubaneswar: Cyber Crime Police on Sunday arrested three Assam-based men for allegedly duping a 64-year-old retired bank employee of Rs 8.5 lakh by sending him a fake link to update his life certificate for pension disbursal.
The accused are believed to be part of an interstate cyber fraud syndicate that used mule bank accounts and SIM cards to siphon off the stolen money.
The arrested accused were identified as Harun Rashid (29), a pharmacist from Nagaon district, and Junaidur Islam (22) and Ejajul Haque (23), both residents of Morigaon district in Assam. Police said the trio is also wanted in cybercrime cases registered in other states.
According to police, the fraud took place on November 3 last year when the retired officer of a nationalised bank received an SMS containing a link purportedly for updating his life certificate online. Minutes later, he received a phone call from a fraudster posing as a bank official, who warned that his pension account would be frozen if he failed to complete the process immediately.
Believing the caller and the message to be genuine, the victim clicked on the link. Soon afterwards, he found that Rs 8.5 lakh had been siphoned off from his account through unauthorised online transactions. He lodged a complaint with the Cyber Crime Police Station on November 5.
ACP Suchismita Das said investigators traced the money trail through technical analysis, banking records and KYC details, eventually leading them to the accused in Assam.
“The victim, though a former banker, was unfamiliar with digital banking. His attempt to complete the process online without verifying the authenticity of the link proved costly. He should have contacted his bank directly for guidance on submitting the life certificate online,” Das said.
The investigation revealed that the accused allegedly procured mule bank accounts and SIM cards to route the proceeds of cybercrime, making it difficult to trace the beneficiaries. Police said more members of the interstate racket have been identified and efforts are underway to arrest them.
“We have identified associates of the arrested trio and raids are being conducted to apprehend them. Further investigation is in progress,” the ACP said.
Police also urged the public to remain vigilant against fraudulent links circulated through SMS and social media in the name of life certificate submission, KYC verification, pension updates, account verification or reward claims.
