Latest news with #CyberPolice
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Indian Express
‘We take every call seriously… even if it turns out to be a hoax'
Last year, when a private school in Outer Delhi's Paschim Vihar received a bomb threat in an email on December 20, around 20 personnel — including officers from the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) and the Bomb Detection Team (BDT), Delhi Fire Service, and even Cyber Police — were sent to the site. The threat turned out to be a hoax. It added to the list of similar emails sent to more than 200 schools in the Capital last year. Each time, a batch of 20-22 personnel was sent to the site of the incident. 'Six to seven members of the BDS, six members with the BDT, six to seven members of the local police stations, the SHO of the Cyber Police station, and two members of the dog squad are sent to the site in such cases,' an officer explained. Multiple instruments have to be used during such an operation — the Bomb Detection Team has to carry explosive vapour detectors, nonlinear junction detectors, and circuit detectors. All the surveillance devices are taken to the site in an ROV (remote operation vehicle). M-ION, a highly portable sniffer, and DSMD (Deep Search Metal Detectors) are used to scan through the whole vicinity. 'We take every bomb threat call seriously. Hence, personnel have to be mobilised even if it turns out to be a hoax. But it does put a lot of things on standby, and multiple teams have to be involved,' Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Devesh Chandra Srivastava told The Indian Express. 'We are also procuring advanced bomb detection and bomb disposal equipment and doing capacity building for our staff,' he added. A senior police officer, who probed multiple hoax calls over the last year, highlighted the commitment of resources for such operations. 'We take all the children and the staff to the muster area outside the school and then search for the bombs. Since we didn't find any explosives in any of the cases, all our police personnel just remained on standby in the area till all the checks were made. For hours, we have to commit so many resources in a very small area of the district,' he said. Local police stations also need to mobilise personnel as they manage the crowds. 'The SHO of the Cyber Police Station or an investigating officer is needed to scan through the emails, even when it's clear that the emails were sent using VPNs, and will be untraceable. Many times, advanced bomb detection tools and safety equipment are not available with every BDS squad. So personnel are also needed to get it from other districts if needed,' another senior police official said. If an explosive is found, the National Security Guard (NSG) gets involved. Even as NSG personnel were not called in most of the calls made last year, police have to engage with the agency to expect a swift response in case any explosives are detected, a senior officer said.
Time of India
22-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
83-year-old retiree loses Rs 1.19 crore in fake IPO scam
An 83-year-old retired man from Dadar, Mumbai, has fallen prey to a sophisticated online stock investment scam, losing Rs 1.19 crore after being lured by fraudsters posing as financial advisors. The incident began on March 10, when the senior citizen clicked on a stock investment advertisement on social media. He was subsequently added to a WhatsApp group named G-5 ICICI Stock Exchange Group, which appeared to be managed by two individuals identified as Vinita Patodia and Ashwin Parekh. The group, with over 90 members, frequently posted messages boasting of high returns from stock trades. On April 2, Patodia privately messaged the victim, asking if he was interested in investing. After he agreed, she sent him a registration link. Soon after, a person named Pranay Warma contacted him and, referencing Patodia, persuaded him to invest Rs 7.5 lakh as an initial amount. Over the following weeks—between May 2 and May 23—the victim made multiple transfers to various bank accounts, believing he was investing in IPOs. The scammers sent fake documents and screenshots showing inflated virtual returns to gain his confidence. When he requested a payout, the fraudsters demanded a 10% commission on the supposed profits. His suspicion grew after his messages and calls began going unanswered. He then consulted a friend, who confirmed it was a scam. Live Events The victim filed a complaint via the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (1930), and the case has since been transferred to the Cyber Police (Central Division). An FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. Investigations are ongoing. Also Read: $2.4 trillion worth of gold! India's household hoard is 6x Pakistan's economy
Economic Times
22-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
83-year-old retiree loses Rs 1.19 crore in fake IPO scam
An 83-year-old retired man from Dadar, Mumbai, has fallen prey to a sophisticated online stock investment scam, losing Rs 1.19 crore after being lured by fraudsters posing as financial advisors. ADVERTISEMENT The incident began on March 10, when the senior citizen clicked on a stock investment advertisement on social media. He was subsequently added to a WhatsApp group named G-5 ICICI Stock Exchange Group, which appeared to be managed by two individuals identified as Vinita Patodia and Ashwin Parekh. The group, with over 90 members, frequently posted messages boasting of high returns from stock trades. On April 2, Patodia privately messaged the victim, asking if he was interested in investing. After he agreed, she sent him a registration link. Soon after, a person named Pranay Warma contacted him and, referencing Patodia, persuaded him to invest Rs 7.5 lakh as an initial amount. Over the following weeks—between May 2 and May 23—the victim made multiple transfers to various bank accounts, believing he was investing in IPOs. The scammers sent fake documents and screenshots showing inflated virtual returns to gain his he requested a payout, the fraudsters demanded a 10% commission on the supposed profits. His suspicion grew after his messages and calls began going unanswered. He then consulted a friend, who confirmed it was a scam. The victim filed a complaint via the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (1930), and the case has since been transferred to the Cyber Police (Central Division). An FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act. Investigations are ongoing. ADVERTISEMENT Also Read: $2.4 trillion worth of gold! India's household hoard is 6x Pakistan's economy (Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views, and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times) ADVERTISEMENT (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
Indian Express
18-06-2025
- Indian Express
Delhi Police arrest 6 for duping man of Rs 10 lakh in cryptocurrency scam
The Delhi Police Monday arrested six men in connection with an alleged Tether or USDT cryptocurrency investment scam that targeted unsuspecting investors on the pretext of high returns. The police said the case came to light after a victim filed a complaint alleging that he was conned into investing Rs 10 lakh via a fraudulent app, Bitop, after being contacted through Facebook Messenger. 'The complainant was induced to download a fake crypto trading application, and was shown fake gains in the wallet or dashboard. However, when he tried to withdraw the invested amount, the accused demanded a 30 per cent clearance fee, following which he realised he had been duped,' said Ankit Chauhan, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South). The victim then approached the Cyber Police, following which a First Information Report (FIR) under Section 318(4) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered. The police's first breakthrough came after the interrogation of Garima Singh from Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, who had provided her bank account details to a neighbour, Alok Singh, 30, for Rs 1,000. She told the police that Singh had been procuring accounts from villagers, and passing them on to another man, Avinash Verma. Verma, in turn, sold them to the alleged mastermind, Himanshu Baisoya, 23, for Rs 15,000 each. Baisoya, a BCA graduate from Kotla Mubarakpur in Delhi, was later arrested. 'He operated the bank accounts, withdrew the cheated amount in cash from ATMs, purchased USDT in cash from Kamal Insan and Simaranjeet Singh and further transferred the USDT to his contacts at a higher margin,' said Chauhan. Kamal Insan is a 29-year-old interior designer, and Simranjeet Singh, 28, is a BCA graduate who is currently unemployed. He introduced Baisoya to Insan, and also facilitated the purchase of USDT in cash, said the police. Verma, 20, provided eight bank accounts to Baisoya for cyber fraud. He also received bank accounts from Alok Singh, and handed them over to Baisoya. The Delhi Police said they have recovered several items, including five mobile phones, one laptop, and four PNB passbooks, which were allegedly used in the operation.
Indian Express
15-06-2025
- Indian Express
Mumbai Police arrests Delhi-based YouTuber for allegedly duping woman of Rs 19 lakh
The Cyber Police in Mumbai arrested a Delhi-based YouTuber on Saturday for allegedly duping a 45-year-old woman from Mumbai of more than Rs 19 lakh. Piyush Katyaal, who makes prank videos and has more than five lakh subscribers on YouTube, is accused of duping the woman under the pretext of accepting financial help for a medical reason. He also allegedly threatened the woman when she asked him to return the money. DCP (Cyber) Purushottam Karhad has confirmed that Katyaal was arrested for defrauding the woman. As per the police complaint, nearly 4 to 5 months ago, the complainant woman came across Katyaal's YouTube page after watching his videos. She followed him, and after seeing her comments on the video, Katyaal contacted her. The two soon exchanged their mobile numbers and chatted over messenger apps. They became good friends. According to the police, after gaining her trust recently, Katyaal sought financial help from her urgently for medical reasons. Considering the seriousness of the situation and trusting Katyaal, the woman helped him. But this continued further, and Katyaal started regularly asking the woman for financial help for one reason or another. Initially, the woman gave the money, but later when she refused, the accused started threatening to make the screenshot of their chatting viral on social media if she did not pay, states the police complaint. He also threatened to defame the woman by saying that he has got connections in the police department. The victim got scared, and taking advantage of this, Katyaal allegedly extorted a total of Rs 19 lakh from her for various reasons. But he continued demanding more money, and the woman was left with no option other than approaching the police. She contacted North Region cyber police and filed a complaint. Accordingly, on the woman's complaint, the North Cyber Police registered a case under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act and arrested Katyaal from Delhi. Katyaal was remanded to five days of police custody by a court. 'The cyber police is investigating the case and we will check if there are other victims as well,' DCP Karhad said.
