The Odisha Economic Offences Wing (EOW) recently busted a major fake job racket which is now considered to be India’s biggest job fraud racket. It took almost three months for the EOW officers to crack the most challenging case as the job fraud was being run by a group of highly tech savvy engineers from Uttar Pradesh.
The tech savvy engineers with the help of some expert website developers had come up with comprehensive strategy to dupe scores of job aspirants. The job fraud scam, which was operating from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, mostly targeted job seekers in at least five states - Gujarat, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Odisha.
The scamsters were very smart and they pre-empted move of law enforcement authorities for which they managed to dodge the cops for long.
Whom were the fraudsters targeting?
The scamsters mostly used to develop websites which resembled a government website displaying the job advertisement. They mostly targeted Health or skill department jobs, and also used 'Pradhan-Mantri schemes' to attract and deceive the job seekers.
How was the racket operated?
The tech savvy engineers and some expert website developers had formed a core group which was assisted by around 50 call center employees who were paid Rs 15,000 per month. These employees were mostly from Jamalpur and Aligarh areas.
These criminals were ‘too smart’ and anticipated every move of police/ law enforcement agencies. They only used WhatsApp voice calls by using fake SIM cards.
To avoid “true caller” detection, the criminals ensured to save their mobile number related to Scheme name. The criminals would used to make employment sites named “Jeevan Swasthya Suraksha Yojana” www.jssy.in, “Bharatiya Jana Swasthya Suraksha Yojana”, www.bjsry.in, “Gramin Samaj Manav swasthya Seva” www.gsmsss.in etc.
After every crime, the criminals used to throw all the mobile sets/ SIMS used in the “closed operations” in the nearby rivers.
More insights into the crime
The criminals also used to give advertisement in local newspapers. However, they used fake identity and used Whatsapp call or other such systems and transact money through mule bank accounts.
Money charged from job aspirants
The gang used to charge from candidates ranging from Rs 3000 to Rs 50000 as registration for interview, training and other kinds of events depending on to what extent a candidate trust them.
Arrest made in the crime so far
Zafar Ahmed (25) of civil lines, Aligarh has been arrested. He is an engineer (B. Tech) by profession and is believed to be the mastermind of this scam.
Total victims
Around 50,000 job seekers have fallen into the trap of the scamsters across the country. Meanwhile, the total duped amount runs in crores. Reportedly, around 1000 fake SIMs and 530 handsets/ mobile were used for this scam.