India’s premier investigative agency has launched action against 2 inter-state cybercrime networks accused of defrauding 2 women from the United Kingdom of lakhs of rupees through online scams.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has initiated a probe into the cases, which took place in July 2024. The first victim, a woman based in Manchester, was cheated of £2,641.87, or ₹2.72 lakh, while searching for a wedding dress online. An unidentified member of the network contacted her and offered to deliver the dress to her address. He shared his bank account details to receive the payment.
The accused later asked her to pay an additional fee for postage. She then received a message on an instant messaging service, allegedly from a reputed courier firm, asking for another £486 as delivery charges. Later, she received a message stating that the parcel had been delivered. However, no package reached her.
Investigators said the ₹2.72 lakh was withdrawn from the bank account through banking channels by 6 alleged network members based in India. The money trail was traced to bank accounts located in India.
In the second case, also reported in July 2024, another UK woman was contacted online by a person posing as her Canada-based nephew. The accused requested £3,000, or ₹3.68 lakh, claiming it was needed to “get out of jail”. The victim later realised she had been scammed and that the caller was not her nephew.
The CBI registered a case on January 26 under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act related to criminal conspiracy, cheating, and cheating by personation using a communication device or computer resource.
An FIR has been filed against 8 accused — R Singh, G Singh, M Singh, K Singh, S Kaur, A Singh, V Kumar, M Ruksak — and other unknown persons allegedly linked to the 2 fraud networks.
Sources said the investigation is at an early stage. Officials will now work to identify key operators and determine the exact roles of those involved in both scams.
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