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Delhi: To crack case, Shahdara cyber cell men don cattle trader role

They had to pick up new skills — from faking an accent to impersonating cattle traders — to arrest three persons from Devaras village in UP’s Mathura district.

Cyber fraud, cybercrime, online fraud, online transaction fraud, internet banking, Idea sim, mumbai police, Indian Express, latest news The accused had made multiple Paytm wallets to transfer the money to spurious bank accounts. (Representational Image)

The cyber cell police team from Shahdara district are proficient in call detail record analysis, looking at e-wallet transactions, spurious bank accounts and conducting internet protocol detail record (IPDR) assessments. But they had to pick up new skills — from faking an accent to impersonating cattle traders — to arrest three persons from Devaras village in UP’s Mathura district.

“The three men had cheated a Delhi Police inspector, Mahesh Kumar, posted at Farsh Bazar police station. Kumar had got a call from the men impersonating an ACP-rank officer asking for money, claiming he was admitted at a local hospital,” said DCP (Shahdara) Meghna Yadav.

Kumar made a series of Paytm transactions, but when the accused started to demand more money, he called up the ACP-rank officer and found he was, in fact, at Karkardooma court.

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Police said the accused, Yousuf, Ravi and Sakir, were found having fake SIM cards. They would procure details of victims from Truecaller and Facebook, and pose as friends asking for money, police said.

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Mix of call details, IP addresses helped crack case

The cyber cell team often uses call detail record (CDR) analysis to procure details of the accused persons from a telephone exchange, such as source of the call, duration and even the money spent on the call. But since the accused kept dumping their mobile phones and SIM cards every two months, the cyber team also relied on internet protocol detail record (IPDR) analysis to provide them with IP addresses of the accused, which they used to track transfer of e-wallet money. The money was tracked to deposits made in bank accounts registered to Mewat-based residents. Police got lucky when they got personal phone numbers, which the accused never dumped, from their CDR analysis — and that helped officers track down their locations.

For 16 days, the cyber cell team — comprising inspector Sunjoy Sharma and six other officers — posed as cattle farmers. They told villagers they were visiting local temples in Mathura. They blended with residents, talking about cattle prices and farm stock — while simultaneously tracking phone locations of the accused.

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Delhi Police said the village was notorious for stone-pelting and attacks on policemen who went to make arrests. “We even saw delivery boys from local eateries stopping outside the village periphery,” said an officer.

The accused had made multiple Paytm wallets to transfer the money to spurious bank accounts. The cyber team analysed more than 100 numbers, 55 Paytm wallet accounts, and 19 bank accounts. “The accused would destroy their phones after making calls,” said an officer.

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So the cyber team, staying in Mathura 50 km away, shifted its focus to Ravi, who allegedly procured SIM cards and phones for the group. They spent hours listening to his calls and tracked him down. “He gave up the locations of the others,” the officer said.

First uploaded on: 11-12-2018 at 03:06 IST
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