New Delhi, Oct 12: The Delhi Police Cyber Crime team has arrested one person from Punjab after busting a crypto fraud racket that duped people on the pretext of offering work-from-home opportunities.
The accused, identified as Sukhpreet Singh (25), a resident of Agwar Pona in Jagraon, Ludhiana, was found operating as part of a Telegram-based crypto scam network.
According to Delhi Police, a case was registered on October 5 under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Cyber Police Station in Shahdara, based on a complaint filed by a resident of Vishvkarma Nagar, Shahdara.
The complainant, Sangam Yadav, alleged that he came across an advertisement on Instagram offering a work-from-home job. After clicking the link, he was directed to a Telegram group where a woman posing as an employee of a company offered him paid online tasks.
Initially, Yadav received small payments for completing rating tasks but was later tricked into depositing a total of ₹55,100 through UPI. When he tried to withdraw his earnings, he was asked to pay additional charges, leading him to realize that he had been defrauded.
During the investigation, police traced the money trail and discovered that ₹29,500 from the defrauded amount had been swapped at a petrol pump in Jagraon in Ludhiana. Based on mobile location analysis, an individual identified as Sukhpreet Singh was apprehended and interrogated. He revealed that he was an active member of a Telegram group where he traded in USDT (a form of cryptocurrency).
Police said the accused purchased USDT at market prices between ₹94 and ₹98 and sold it within the group at ₹105 per USDT. He was aware that the INR he received was linked to cybercrime proceeds, and to avoid detection, he used multiple accounts to withdraw cash or make swaps at petrol pumps.
Police have seized three mobile phones, six SIM cards, and twelve ATM cards from his possession. After a two-day police custody remand, Singh was sent to judicial custody. Further investigation revealed that the defrauded money was distributed across several accounts, with one belonging to an Indian Bank account holder who remains untraced. (Agencies)
