Mohali Police Busts Cyber Fraud Ring Duping Americans

Mohali Police arrested 21 people, including 4 women, for duping American nationals through an illegal cyber center. During the operation, police seized 20 laptops and Rs 1,40,000 in cash. The accused, including 4 African nationals, posed as officials to gain victims' personal information.

In an information-based operation, Mohali Police arrested 21 people, including 17 men and four women, for allegedly duping American nationals, officials said on Tuesday. The arrests followed simultaneous raids at their residences, leading to the seizure of 20 laptops and Rs 1,40,000 in cash.

Mohali Superintendent of Police Jyoti Yadav told ANI, 'Mohali police have apprehended 21 individuals in an information-based operation for operating an illegal cyber center. They used to fraudulently target American nationals.' Yadav added that among the arrested, four were African nationals while the rest came from various Indian states like West Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan, and Bihar.

The fraudulent scheme involved posing as police and customs officials, contacting American nationals to claim their parcels with drugs had been seized at the Mexican border. The victims were then tricked into providing personal information via a URL link, which allowed the scammers to hack their bank details and empty accounts.

'All the 21 arrested have been remanded to police custody for three days,' SP Yadav stated, highlighting that most of the accused are young, well-educated IT graduates living in four different flats in the area.

(With inputs from agencies.)