Dehradun: The Uttarakhand STF has busted a gang of cyber criminals who were duping job seekers across the country by offering fake employment opportunities at multinational companies. These cyber fraudsters targeted unemployed youths by demanding processing fees in exchange for bogus job offer letters from major companies like IBM, HCL, Tech Mahindra, and Amazon.
The gang primarily targeted the youths from South Indian states, including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. In a significant breakthrough, two gang members were arrested. The STF recovered 2 laptops, 7 pre-activated SIM cards, 12 ATM cards, 7 mobile phones, 2 passbooks, cheque books from 5 banks, and 4 walkie-talkie sets from the suspects.
Cyber thugs were operating from Dehradun
Giving the information, Senior Superintendent of Police STF Mr. Navneet Singh Bhullar said that STF had received information that unemployed youths were being duped in the name of big companies like IBM, HCL, Tech-Mahindra, Amazon Cyber frauds are being committed in the name of processing fee by giving fake ‘job offer letters’. Some cyber thugs involved in this are operating this gang from Dehradun district.
STF took action on the information of various web portals of 14C of Home Ministry
The STF Uttarakhand, after monitoring various web portals under the Home Ministry’s 14C, discovered that suspicious mobile numbers used by cyber thugs, who demand processing fees by issuing fake job offer letters in the name of big companies, have been active in the Patel Nagar Police Station area of Dehradun for a long time. During this investigation, they analyzed data from various mobile numbers and checked transaction details of several suspicious bank accounts. They found that large sums of money were being deposited into these accounts by people from almost every state in the country, in amounts ranging from Rs 2500 to Rs 30000 daily.
In the last two months alone, lakhs of rupees were deposited and withdrawn from these five suspicious bank accounts. Significant amounts were deposited from states like Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. So far, STF have found 25 complaints registered in the states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra on the 1930 portal.
A cyber call centre was running under the guise of Babaji Transport
The STF team was instructed to devise a precise action plan and stay in the Patel Nagar area for the past 15 days to gather information about this gang. Their efforts culminated in the successful arrest of two gang members from the office of BGTC Babaji Transport Company on the main Saharanpur-Dehradun road in the Patel Nagar Police Station area. From their possession, the STF recovered 2 laptops, 7 pre-activated SIM cards, 12 ATM cards, 7 mobile phones, 2 passbooks, cheque books from 5 banks, and 4 walkie-talkie sets. The STF is still searching for other members of this gang.
Accused details
Senior Superintendent of Police Navneet Singh Bhullar revealed that Ishvinder Shergill alias Sunny is the main leader of the gang, who recruited Vivek Rawat. Ishvinder, previously jailed in 2019 for cyber fraud at Basant Kunj police station in Delhi, resumed working in a cyber call center after his release, where he met Vivek. They then moved to Dehradun to continue their operations.
Modus operandi of the accused
During interrogation, Ishvinder alias Sunny revealed that he set up a company and an NGO named BGTC – BABA G TRANSPORT COMPANY and Sunny Foundation in Dehradun. He employed Vivek Rawat and three to four others for cyber fraud, making calls nationwide to dupe unemployed youths by promising jobs in multinational companies. A person from Delhi provided data of unemployed youths, especially from South India, for Rs. 1000, and pre-activated SIM cards for Rs. 800. They obtained complete details of students and offered fake job opportunities at companies like Mahindra Tech, Cipla, IBM, and HCL.
The gang conducted online tests, informed candidates they had passed, and issued fake job offer letters. They collected various processing and medical examination fees, amounting to Rs. 250 to 20-30 thousand, deposited in fake accounts and withdrawn via ATMs. Each account was used for Rs. 4-5 lakh before being closed. The interrogation also provided information about other cyber thugs, and the STF will soon take action against them.
Appeal
Senior Superintendent of Police STF, Navneet Singh Bhullar, urges the youth to exercise caution when sharing their data on online job portals to avoid falling victim to such frauds. He requests that any suspicious mobile numbers or incidents be reported immediately by calling 1930.
