New Delhi, May 26 Beware when providing rented accommodation online, as cyber thugs based in Rajasthan have devised a new modus operandi: they contact individuals who have advertised houses for rent and deceive them by sending payment links.
Delhi Police apprehended two men who disclosed that they shared a payment link, falsely claiming to have made an advance payment for the accommodation. However, when the victim clicks on the link, the thugs fraudulently extract money from the victim's account.
According to the police, a recent complaint was filed at the Cyber South District Police Station in which the complainant told police that he had posted an advertisement for renting out his accommodation on an online portal.
Shortly after that, he received a message from an unknown individual who expressed interest in renting the property.
"The person impersonated themself as an Army officer and sent the complainant a payment link. Unfortunately, the complainant clicked on the link, resulting in a debit of Rs 5,20,000 from his bank account," said Ankit Chauhan, the additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South).
During the investigation, the authorities collected the trail of the fraudulent money transfer into the fraudster's bank account from the respective bank. Additionally, the Call Detail Records (CDR) and Customer Application Form (CAF) of the mobile phone number through which the text message was received by the victim were also obtained and placed under extensive surveillance.
"The team diligently worked on all available aspects of the case. Their efforts proved fruitful when it came to light that the defrauded amount of Rs 5,20,000 had been credited to five different bank accounts. Among these, Rs 50,000 was found in an account at AU Small Bank, registered under the name of Shivkesh Bairwa," said Chauhan.
The police team thoroughly analysed and logically verified other pertinent details of the bank transactions. Through surveillance and technical analysis, they were able to narrow down the location of the accused to Dausa, Rajasthan.
Immediately, the team was dispatched to Rajasthan, and on May 24, a raid was conducted in Dausa, Rajasthan, leading to the apprehension of the accused, Shivkesh Bairwa, a resident of Mohanpura in Rajasthan
"During intense interrogation, the accused confessed to their involvement in the aforementioned incident. The accused further disclosed that they had sold their account to an individual named Ramkesh Parjapat," said the official.
Acting on this information, the team apprehended the co-accused, Ramkesh Parjapat, a resident of Dausa.
"Additionally, the team successfully recovered two mobile phones that were used in the commission of the crime," said Chauhan.
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