Cyber Crime
Uttarakhand STF busts a national scam in Nagpur, involving the issuance of new SIM cards by capturing people’s biometric data
Office of the Senior Superintendent of Police, Special Task Force, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
- Uttarakhand STF (Cyber Police Station, Garhwal Range) busts a national scam in Nagpur involving the issuance of new SIM cards by capturing people’s biometric data.
- Both female accused were supplying thousands of SIM cards to members of a gang who lured people into online trading schemes via social media ads, promising high returns.
- As per the Department of Telecommunications’ e-KYC norms, biometric-based verification and live photos are mandatory. The gang, under the guise of schemes, would visit villages to collect people’s photos and biometric data to issue new SIM cards.
- The two female accused collected biometric data from people under the pretext of creating their Ayushman cards and used it to activate SIM cards. These SIM cards were then sold at high prices to gangs involved in cyber fraud.
- The accused would use the SIM cards to open current accounts for other individuals, activate internet banking, obtain internet banking kits, and create login credentials to commit fraud.
- It has also come to light that the son of one of the female accused is residing in the Philippines and is in contact with cybercriminals there.
Senior Superintendent of Police (STF), Mr. Navneet Singh, shared that a case was registered by a victim residing in Dehradun. The victim saw an advertisement for an online trading business on Telegram, which directed them to join an unknown WhatsApp group. After chatting, the complainant was further directed to join an investment group through another link, where members were sharing screenshots showing their profit amounts. The group claimed to be involved in buying and selling stocks in the online market.
The complainant was duped into transferring approximately Rs 23 lakh to various bank accounts provided by the accused via WhatsApp for online trading investments.
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Given the seriousness of the case, the Senior Superintendent of Police (STF) instructed Additional SP Chandra Mohan Singh to investigate. Under the supervision of officer Ankush Mishra, a team was formed to conduct a preliminary analysis of the case, and the investigation was assigned to Inspector Devendra Nabiyal.
The cybercrime police began collecting data from the relevant banks, service providers, and companies like Meta regarding the bank accounts, registered mobile numbers, and WhatsApp numbers used in the crime. The data analysis revealed that the cybercriminals were using *commission-based accounts* belonging to other individuals to receive the defrauded money.
During the investigation, the Cyber Police team verified the bank accounts and mobile numbers involved. Utilizing technical and digital evidence, the team identified two female accused:
1. Pushpa Barapatre, Police Station Batthoda, District Nagpur
2. Yadamma Sultan, Police Station Hudkeshwar, District Nagpur, Maharashtra.
It was found that both women were in *continuous contact with foreign cybercriminals, and Yadamma Sultan’s son, Raju Sultan, resides in the Philippines and is believed to be the mastermind behind the scam.
Both women had been collecting people’s biometric data under the pretext of creating Ayushman cards and activating SIM cards. These SIM cards were then couriered to the Philippines, where Raju Sultan used them for cybercrime. The women received large sums of money in exchange for the SIM cards.
A team was formed and dispatched to Nagpur and surrounding areas to locate the female accused. Based on technical evidence, critical information was obtained. Through diligent efforts and the use of technical resources, the two accused women were served notices under Section 41(A) CrPC. A mobile phone used in the crime was recovered from Pushpa Barapatre. The investigation also revealed large monetary transactions between the women and Raju Sultan, the mastermind in the Philippines.
In the mobile phone recovered from Pushpa Barapatre, several photos of bank accounts, SIM cards, and documents were found. Additionally, evidence was obtained showing their contact with other cybercriminals via WhatsApp. Legal action has been taken against both female accused.
Modus Operandi
The accused spread advertisements about trading businesses through social media and lured people to join WhatsApp groups via links. They promised high returns in short-term online trading and defrauded people by encouraging them to invest large sums of money.
In the WhatsApp group, the accused would post fake screenshots of profits from various stock investments and claim that they were making large profits themselves, persuading group members to invest.
To show the profits from the invested money, the accused used fake links that displayed a dashboard with fabricated details of the investments, including the profits. This gave victims the false belief that they were earning significant returns. Sometimes, the criminals would send small amounts back to the victims as part of the supposed profits, making it harder for the victims to detect the ongoing fraud. The fraudulently acquired funds were transferred across different bank accounts.
The accused opened current accounts in other individuals’ names, activated internet banking, and created login credentials to carry out their crimes. They focused on accounts with higher withdrawal limits.
During questioning, one of the accused revealed that she had sent approximately 4,000 to 5,000 SIM cards to Raju Sultan in the Philippines. Using these cards, thousands of SIMs were activated, and the corresponding mobile numbers were linked to bank accounts used in the fraud. Cyber Police are now coordinating with law enforcement across various states to investigate the complaints received nationwide.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused had activated SIM cards using the biometric data collected under the guise of creating Ayushman cards. These SIM cards were linked to bank accounts used for cyber fraud.
The bank statements of the two accused women showed transactions involving lakhs of rupees. Further investigation has revealed that several complaints regarding cybercrimes involving these activated SIM cards have been registered in multiple states across India.
Seized Items: One mobile phone, nine debit cards from various banks, one Aadhaar card, one PAN card, one voter ID.
Police Team: The operation was led by Ankush Mishra, DySP, Cyber Crime, Uttarakhand and his team consisting of Inspector Devendra Singh Nabiyal and other officers.