3 dists house 200 gangs that run e-frauds: Gurugram cops
GURUGRAM: Following investigations into many cases of online frauds, the Gurugram police have identified at least three districts -- one each in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan -- where around 200 gangs of fraudsters are operating out of more than 20 villages.
According to the police, these gangs are involved in recent spate of fraud cases involving online market places and also cases involving e-wallets and debit/credit card transactions. Nearly 3,000 people in Gurugram have been duped this year so far, the police said, adding that most of the fraud cases were reported in the past few months.
The gangs have been traced back to Nuh, Mathura and Bharatpur, said the police.
KK Rao, commissioner of police, said as the number of people being duped by conmen has risen during the Covid-19 pandemic, we have issued an advisory asking people to be cautious while buying or selling vehicles on the online portal. “The gangs buy cheap mobile phones, and SIM cards in bulk from different states. They use one mobile phone barely for three days and later bury them or damage them to escape arrest,” he said.
The police said they have identified the villages but are facing challenges as the locals have not cooperated with the investigation so far. Rao said the
suspects cash in on the trust of the victims on the online portals which they gain by offering vehicles and electronic gadgets at throwaway prices. On an average, three complaints of being cheated on these marketplaces are being registered at the cybercrime police stations in the city everyday. “Despite knowing the areas from where these gangs are operating, we are yet to make headways in major cases as the suspects are using latest technology and before the police can trace the location, they flee from the spot,” he said.
The Cyber police teams are taking help of locals to crack these cases and teams are visiting these areas regularly to get some crucial leads. The most common modus operandi of these gangs is posting fake advertisements on the website for the sale of second hand vehicles, gadgets such as mobile phones and laptops.
“These gangs upload pictures online and put up advertisements by creating an account. When a buyer shows interest in the product, they pretend to carry out the transaction and dupe the buyer after collecting money through online mode,” said Karan Goyal, assistant commissioner of police (DLF).
In over 300 cases, conmen shared identity cards of defence personnel, claiming that they were posted in field areas or on borders to gain trust of the victims.
A total of 61 people were arrested this year till date. Jasvir Singh Punia, SHO, Cyber police station, said they have arrested 38 people in the past two months for duping people. “The suspects said it was easier to dupe people during lockdown as they were busy working from home and easily shared one time password,” Punia said.
Meanwhile, representatives of OLX met the police commissioner last week to discuss the measures that they have taken to combat fraud. “We have started capturing GPS locations of the users, who have consented to the in-app permission for sharing the location. Most importantly by next week, we will be implementing verified user tags for the users posting ads in the cars category,” said Juhi Singh, legal counsel, OLX India.