New Delhi,UPDATED: Aug 8, 2023 05:28 IST
Two men have been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Cyber Crime police for allegedly duping a Noida-based businessman of Rs 1 crore. While confessing to the crime after being taken into custody, the two accused admitted that they drew inspiration from the web series ‘Money Heist’, according to news agency PTI.
The arrests came after a businessman lodged an FIR at the Cyber Crime police station in Noida, stating that he had been defrauded of Rs 1 crore by unknown individuals who made unauthorised fund transfers from his bank account.
The two arrested men were identified as Ritesh Chaturvedi, also known as Amit Singh, and Rishabh Jain, also known as Prince Thakur, reported PTI, quoting the police.
The duo allegedly hacked the email ID of the complainant’s company, which was linked to its bank account, and used various techniques to perpetrate the fraud.
They used a virtual private network, the dark web, SIM cards obtained with forged IDs, and a method to bypass the OTP sent to the registered mobile number.
Once they gained control of the bank account, the accused transferred Rs 1 crore to four different bank accounts, all of which were created using forged identities, said the police.
The funds were then converted into cryptocurrencies using an e-wallet on USDT.
The police further revealed that the criminals had joined more than 15 groups on WhatsApp and Telegram, adopting the names of characters from the show.
The accused used fake SIM cards and international mobile numbers associated with the characters they impersonated. They went by the names ‘Professor’ and ‘Rio’ on the virtual platforms.
The police have seized the technical resources used in the fraud and have lodged an FIR under section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (cheating) and provisions of the Information Technology Act.
During the arrest, the police discovered a car, a laptop, 11 mobile phones, 25 SIM cards, 23 debit cards, and other related items in the possession of the accused.
(With PTI Inputs)