Delhi: Man held for credit card fraud
A 21-year-old man was arrested for allegedly cheating people on the pretext of redeeming their credit card points in east Delhi's Preet Vihar area, police said on Tuesday. "The accused has been identified as Tushar Tyagi, a resident of Mandawali in Delhi. He came in contact with the main accused through the PUBG game," police said.
An advocate had lodged a complaint against the fraud
According to police, an advocate, Sadab Khan, lodged a complaint at Malviya Nagar Police station that he was cheated after receiving a text message on his mobile phone to redeem his credit card points. "As soon as he clicked on the given web link and entered his card details, he lost Rs. one lakh from his credit card," police said.
Accused used spoofed SMS services to send phishing messages
"During the investigation, it was revealed that the accused had used spoofed SMS services to send phishing messages of credit card points' redemption," Deputy Commissioner of Police (south) Atul Kumar Thakur said. "Police found that the amount had been credited first in an e-wallet account and then it was used for purchasing gift vouchers of a multi-brand electronic store," he said.
Opened e-wallet accounts on fake IDs: Police
"The e-wallet account was opened on fake IDs," police said. "Police informed the electronic store located in Kota, Rajasthan, from where the gift vouchers were obtained in different names," they said.
Accused apprehended by store staff; handed over to police
"Police had the numbers of the vouchers and alerted the manager of the store about them," they said. "The store has many branches across India. The accused redeemed vouchers and when Tyagi came to take delivery on Sunday at the Preet Vihar branch, the store staff apprehended him and handed him over to the police," police said.
Tyagi had met a man involved in phishing
"Interrogation revealed that during COVID-19 lockdown, Tyagi came in contact with one Vishal alias Shubham while playing PUBG game and they became friends," Thakur said. "Initially, Shubham provided game accessories to Tyagi and was talking to him through voice over internet protocol calls," he said.
Shubham gradually involved Tyagi in his operations
"When their friendship developed, Shubham informed him that he works in credit and debit cards phishing and has good knowledge to earn easy money in cyberspace," police said. "He offered Tyagi 20 percent commission on the sale of his purchased items. In January 2021, Shubham asked Tyagi to collect his smartphones from the stores and to sell them in the open market," they said.
Shubham is absconding; efforts are on to catch him
"After keeping his commission of 20 percent, he had to deposit the remaining amount into Shubham's wallet and bank account. He has deposited around Rs. two lakh in Shubham's account till now," police said. "Efforts are being made to apprehend Shubham," they said. "Police recovered 15 smartphones, including 9 iPhones, from Tyagi's possession," they said.
