Delhi Woman Duped of Rs 1.63 Lakh on the Pretext of 'Job' in Japan; Two Held from Bareilly

The Delhi Police has arrested two suspects linked with a cyber fraud syndicate that allegedly lured job seekers with false promises of employment opportunities in Japan before extracting money on the pretext of embassy clearances, visa processing, ministry attestation and other formalities, an official said on Wednesday.

According to police, syndicate members posed as recruitment consultants and representatives of reputed foreign companies.

Victims were told that their resumes had been shortlisted for overseas employment, and then put through to fake interviews. They were asked to submit documents and then persuaded to make payments for various recruitment-related formalities.

The accused -- Kush Bhatnagar (22) and Amit (23), both residents of Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly -- were arrested following an investigation into a complaint filed by a woman who was allegedly duped of Rs 1.63 lakh on the pretext of a job in Japan.

A case was registered in this connection at the East District cyber police station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

During the investigation, police analysed the money trail and found that Rs 1.27 lakh from the cheated amount had been credited to a bank account belonging to Kush Bhatnagar as the first-layer transaction.

Further scrutiny revealed that part of the money was routed through multiple accounts, including that of co-accused Amit, who allegedly received Rs 14,850 and facilitated the withdrawal and transfer of the funds.

A police team travelled to Bareilly and conducted extensive field inquiries. Based on bank records, digital evidence and sustained interrogation, sufficient evidence was gathered against the accused, leading to their arrest, officials said.

Investigation revealed that the syndicate harvested data of job seekers from online employment portals and other sources before sending fraudulent emails in the names of reputed foreign firms.

After convincing victims that they were eligible for overseas employment, the cybercriminals persuaded them to pay money under the pretext of Ministry of External Affairs attestation, embassy clearances, employment approval letters, visa processing and international verification, Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Rajeev Kumar said in a statement.

The accused allegedly used multiple bank accounts, SIM cards, email IDs and digital platforms to receive and disperse the cheated funds and conceal the money trail.

Police recovered mobile phones, SIM cards, recruitment-related email accounts, chats and other digital evidence linked to the alleged fraud from the accused.

The accused have no prior criminal involvement, police said.

Efforts are underway to identify and apprehend other members of the syndicate and trace other victims, they added.