City police on Thursday busted a cyber financial fraud racket and arrested two men accused of hacking mobile phones and misusing victims’ banking details to make fraudulent online purchases.
Police Commissioner Sachin Mittal identified the arrested accused as Amol Chopra and Saksham Khandelwal. He said efforts are underway to trace and arrest other members linked to the network.
Fake links used to hack mobile phones
According to investigators, the accused sent fake and malicious links to unsuspecting users. Once the links were clicked, the accused allegedly gained unauthorised access to victims’ mobile phones.
Police said the accused then misused credit and debit card details stored on the devices to place orders for high-value items, including mobile phones and other goods.
Fraudulent purchases via quick-delivery apps
Officials revealed that the accused placed orders through major e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms such as Flipkart, Amazon, Swiggy, Zepto and Blinkit.
“Several transactions were deliberately routed through instant-delivery services to reduce the window for detection and recovery,” police said.
Digital trail led to arrests
The racket came to light following a tip-off from an informer. Based on technical surveillance and confidential inputs, police teams tracked the digital footprint of the accused and arrested them.
“Our teams identified the accused, mapped their digital trail and dismantled a key part of the network,” Commissioner Mittal said.
Use of crypto and international links probed
DCP (Crime) Abhijit Singh said the accused used third-party payment applications and digital identity theft to mask their transactions.
“We have found evidence suggesting that mobile phones procured through cyber fraud were routed out of the country via Nepal. The accused also relied heavily on cryptocurrency to conceal money trails,” he said.
Police said preliminary findings indicate possible international linkages, and investigations are ongoing to examine cross-border financial flows, digital wallets and crypto assets associated with the racket.
Further investigation underway
Officials said more arrests are likely as investigators continue to analyse seized devices and financial records. Police have urged citizens to remain cautious and avoid clicking on unknown or suspicious links received via messages or emails.