Bike taxi rider posing as cop held for multiple cyber fraud cases

A bike taxi rider, who was allegedly involved in multiple cases of online cheating, impersonation, and digital fraud by posing as a Cyber Crime Police Officer was arrested, police said on Thursday. The 27-year-old accused, a habitual cyber crime offender was found involved in 44 cyber fraud petitions, including several registered cases and complaints on the NCRP portal across Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, Assistant Commissioner of Police (SR Nagar Division) S V Raghavendra Rao said in a release. The accused targeted victims by creating fake profiles of women on social media platforms, and after gaining their confidence through online chats, obtained their phone numbers and later contacted them by posing as a Cyber Crime Police Officer, police said. By threatening the victims with false allegations of obscene online activity and instilling fear of arrest, he allegedly extorted money under the guise of fine amounts through UPI and other digital payment modes, police said. An investigation based on a complaint to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), by a student, who was cheated of Rs 97,540 through multiple digital transactions, led to the arrest of the accused, who is a native of Warangal in Telangana, police said. During interrogation, the accused confessed to his involvement in multiple similar cyber fraud cases. ''Verification with the Technical team revealed that the accused is involved in 44 cyber fraud petitions'', police said. Further investigation revealed that the accused, along with his associates, used multiple SIM cards, mobile phones, bank accounts, and UPI scanners to commit the offences, the release added.