Gurugram: Cyber Crime Police busted a sophisticated cybercrime network involved in over 18,000 digital fraud cases nationwide with 55 cybercriminals arrested. ACP Priyanshu Dewan of Cyber Crime cell, uncovered a syndicate responsible for frauds worth over Rs 72.5 crore in 597 FIRs registered by the police, which include 48 in Haryana alone. Information reveals, 840 criminals were arrested in the past four months. According to police records the 48 state-level cases span Gurgaon’s Cyber East (10 cases), Cyber West (8 cases) and Cyber South (3 cases) police stations. Critical evidence recovered during the raid included 21 mobile phones, 11 SIM cards, 2 ATM cards, a cheque book, a passbook and more than Rs 30 lakh in cash. All recovered data and devices are now being analyzed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre revealing links to cyber frauds nationwide. ACP Dewan said a massive wave of crackdowns with 840 accused arrested in the past four months alone. Most were arrested in Rajasthan (177) and Uttar Pradesh (172), followed by Delhi (96), Madhya Pradesh (37), Gujarat (36), and Bihar (31). The scale and spread underscore how deeply cybercrime has penetrated across states.
Police investigations revealed an organized ecosystem of fraud built on fake investment schemes, sextortion, FedEx impersonation frauds, digital arrest threats, and honeytraps. According to ACP Dewan, “They prey on human emotions—greed, lust, fear. Investment scams alone account for 30-40% of total frauds.” Sources revealed, the syndicates operate with the precision of corporate entities, using specialized teams, tech handlers, social media baiters, mule recruiters, and foreign handlers. Many operations are coordinated from Southeast Asian scam factories based in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Dubai, police revealed.
A troubling trend emerged during the probe: ordinary Indians, students, women, and small shopkeepers were found selling their bank accounts for easy cash, ranging from Rs 50,000 to 1 lakh. One student in Gurgaon during investigation admitted that he had sold his account to a scammer while preparing for competitive exams due to financial hardship. Money trails showed how funds stolen from victims are quickly rerouted through multiple bank accounts, creating a digital shell game that complicates tracking. A police investigating officer said, by the time we locate one account, the money already found has moved elsewhere, it’s like chasing shadows. Police also dismantled a fake Chartered Accountant (CA) gang, which frauded people with fraudulent investment schemes. The accused trapped in the police net included Alok Sharma (56), Dhruv Chawla (22), Muhammad Sujat (18), and Amanpreet Singh (18) who were caught illegally selling and reselling bank accounts.
Investigation revealed that Chawla, posing as a fake CA, bought an account from Sharma for Rs 40,000 and sold it to Sujat for Rs 20,000. Sujat passed the account to Singh for Rs 25,000, who further sold it on Telegram to another unknown scammer. Four mobile phones were recovered from the group, exposing transactional evidence. This case exposed not only the vast web of organized cybercrime in India but also the urgent need for comprehensive cybersecurity awareness, digital literacy, and enhanced coordination between states and central cybercrime units. Police authorities are urging the public to be cautious of too-good-to-be-true investment offers, random messages from unknown contacts and requests for personal financial data. The use of common platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, and UPI for illicit activities continues to challenge traditional policing methods.
ACP Dewan cautioned that cybercriminals are not alone they usually operate in networks as structured as corporations. He disclosed to the media, the operation led to the arrest of 55 cyber fraudsters from various parts of India including Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Delhi, Punjab, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Chandigarh. The accused were caught between January and May 2025 by various cyber crime police teams under Gurugram’s Cyber East, Cyber West and Cyber South police stations in a complex network of fraud involving fake social media profiles, sextortion scams, investment frauds and FedEx frauds, where the criminals posed as fake police, CBI and ED officials to deceive victims. He disclosed, among the few accused were Mahesh Suresh Bobde from Maharashtra, Pitambar alias Lala from Rajasthan, Vishwash Gupta from Delhi and several others hailing from different states who were booked under multiple FIRs spanning over a year. The investigation emphasized the use of modern cyber tactics such as creating fake social media identities and leveraging emotional and financial manipulation to extract money from victims.
