Cyber fraud racket busted in Cuttack, 7 including 4 bank employees arrested

In a major breakthrough, the Commissionerate Police on Saturday busted a major cyber fraud racket in Cuttack, arresting seven members of an organised gang, including four bank employees. The crackdown has exposed a well-planned operation that targeted unsuspecting people by luring them with promises of doubling their money.

According to police, the accused created fake bank accounts and cheated people by offering lucrative financial returns. Using their access and technical resources, the gang allegedly carried out large-scale fraud over a period of time.

Massive Seizure During Raid

Police recovered a huge cache of materials from the accused, including hard disks, computers, laptops, mobile phones, cheque books, mobile SIM cards, scanners and other crucial equipment. During the operation, 554 bank passbooks, 69 mobile phones, and 704 bank debit and credit cards were seized.

In addition, the Commissionerate Police froze nearly Rs 90 lakh kept in various bank accounts linked to the accused.

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Police Reveal Details

Cuttack Police Commissioner S. Devdatta Singh shared these details during a press conference, highlighting the scale and seriousness of the cyber fraud network. He said the involvement of bank employees indicates how the gang managed to operate with ease.

“Information was received that an inter-state racket based in Cuttack was operating, where criminals were using various applications, mainly Telegram, to advertise fraudulent investment schemes. People were lured with promises that their investment would be doubled. Initially, investors were shown small returns ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 4,000 to gain their trust. Once larger sums were invested, the money was transferred to multiple bank accounts, and the victims ultimately received nothing. The accused used professionally designed websites to carry out the fraud. Four of the arrested members were bank employees who allegedly accepted Rs 10,000 to provide details of mule bank accounts. By the time victims tried to trace their money, six to seven fake bank accounts had already been created and used. In total, seven members of the racket have been arrested,” said Twin City Police Commissioner S. Dev Datta Singh.