Three held for duping Delhi man of Rs 15.26 lakh on pretext of credit card limit hike

The Delhi Police has arrested three alleged cyber fraudsters for cheating a resident of Rs 15.26 lakh by luring him with a fake offer to increase his credit card limit, an official said on Thursday.

The accused Kundan (34), Vipin Kumar (23) and Naveen (36), are all residents of Najafgarh in southwest Delhi. According to police, the trio operated mule bank accounts and used them to receive and transfer money obtained through cyber fraud.

The case came to light after Sai Kiran Madhavan, a resident of Shalimar Bagh, lodged a complaint alleging that fraudsters posing as bank representatives duped him of Rs 15.26 lakh.

“The accused contacted the complainant on the pretext of increasing his credit card limit and gained his confidence. They persuaded him to share sensitive banking details, following which unauthorised transactions were carried out from his account,” a senior police officer said.

Based on the complaint, an e-FIR was registered under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on January 17 this year. During the investigation, police analysed the money trail and found that the cheated amount had been routed through multiple mule accounts to conceal the proceeds of crime.

The probe led investigators to Najafgarh and Dwarka, where police traced the accused using technical surveillance and field intelligence inputs. Police first apprehended Kundan, who allegedly disclosed the involvement of his associates Vipin and Naveen.

Acting on the information, police raided the Dwarka area and arrested the remaining two accused.

Police recovered seven mobile phones, three ATM cards, three cheque books and two passbooks allegedly used in the commission of the offence.

“The recovered banking instruments and mobile phones were used to operate mule accounts, facilitate fraudulent transactions and transfer the cheated money,” the officer said.

Police said investigation is underway to identify other members of the cyber fraud network and ascertain their involvement in similar cases.

Authorities have advised people not to share OTPs, CVV numbers, internet banking credentials or other confidential banking information with anyone claiming to offer credit card upgrades, KYC updates or banking assistance over phone calls, messages or social media platforms.