Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], August 19 : The Cyber Crime Police Station of Chandigarh Police stated that they have arrested a 34-year-old man accused of defrauding a victim of Rs 1.3 crore through impersonation.
The action was taken under the supervision of Superintendent of Police Cyber Crime Geetanjali Khandelwal, DSP A Venkatesh, and Inspector Eram Rizvi, SHO, Cyber Crime Police Station, Sector 17, Chandigarh.
The accused has been identified as Joshua Oscar Nevis, son of Oscar Nevis, a resident of Mumbai.
According to the complaint filed by the victim, he had received a WhatsApp message from an unknown number in which the sender impersonated his employer and asked him to urgently transfer money as an advance payment for a new project. Believing the message to be genuine, the complainant transferred Rs 1.3 crore into an ICICI Bank account in the name of Joshua Oscar Nevis. Later, it came to light that the entire transaction was fraudulent, the SP said.
The Cyber Crime Police conducted raids in Mumbai, Maharashtra, after filing the FIR on April 20 under sections 319(2), 318(4), 336(3), 338, 340(2) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and arrested the accused on August 13.
During interrogation, Nevis disclosed that he had come into contact with a person through Telegram who introduced him to another individual. The accused further revealed that he had handed over his ICICI bank account kit, cheque book, debit card and registered SIM card to this individual, who then used them to execute the fraud, the officer added.
Police said that the investigation of the case is ongoing, and efforts are being made to trace the other accused and establish their role in similar cyber crimes. Nevis is currently in police custody and is being interrogated to gather more leads, SP added.
Chandigarh Police have also issued an advisory to the public, warning citizens against such fraudulent activities.
They urged people not to fall prey to impersonation scams involving relatives, courier companies, narcotics officials or police personnel. They advised against transferring money for verification, avoiding arrest, or settling false cases. Citizens have been asked to verify suspicious calls by contacting local police or dialling the Cyber Crime Helpline number.