Five arrested by Konaje police in part-time job cyber scam

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru, November 16, 2024: The Konaje police have arrested five individuals in connection with a cybercrime case involving a ’part-time job’ scam that defrauded a victim of ₹28,18,065. The accused include four residents of Mysuru’s Udayagiri area and one from Bengaluru’s Neelasandra locality.

The arrested individuals are identified as Syed Mahmood, Shuhaib, Mohammad Shariq Ahmed, Mohsin Ahmed Khan, and Mohammad Azam.

The investigation began after a complaint was filed on July 21, 2024. The complainant reported receiving a WhatsApp message promoting a part-time job opportunity, which included a link to the Telegram app. Upon clicking the link, the complainant was instructed to watch a video, send a screenshot, and subsequently received ₹130 in their bank account. However, they were later informed that the video submission was incorrect and were coerced into making additional transactions to "rectify" the situation, ultimately transferring ₹28,18,065 to multiple accounts.

The investigation, led by Inspector Rajendra B of the Konaje police station, identified Shuhaib as the main accused. Shuhaib had links with an associate, Dastagir, who provided him with bank accounts and SIM cards, lured by promises of bank loans and payments of ₹10,000 per account. Shuhaib acquired two accounts from Karnataka Bank’s Rajendra Nagar branch and Canara Bank’s NR Mohalla branch in Mysuru and sold them to Dastagir for ₹20,000.

Further inquiries revealed the involvement of Syed Mahmood, an Airtel product trainer. Mahmood supplied SIM cards to Shuhaib and later sold two bank accounts for ₹20,000. Similarly, Mohsin Ahmed Khan and Mohammad Shariq Ahmed were persuaded to hand over their bank accounts under the pretext of a loan scheme. Another accused, Mohammad Azam from Bengaluru, opened an account at Punjab National Bank’s MG Road branch and sold it for ₹3,000.

The investigation uncovered a larger network of individuals selling bank accounts for financial gain, thereby facilitating cybercrimes. Police also discovered that residents from areas such as Mysuru’s Nehru Nagar, Shantinagar, Rajiv Nagar, and Bengaluru’s Neelasandra were involved in similar activities.

The operation was carried out under the supervision of City Police Commissioner Anupam Agarwal (IPS), with guidance from Deputy Commissioners Siddharth Goyal and Dinesh Kumar, and support from Assistant Commissioner of Police Dhanya N. Nayak. The Konaje police team included PSI Puneeth Gawankar, PSI Ashok, and other station personnel.