Odisha: Four Arrested in Connection with Fake Gaming App Scam
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Bhubaneswar, Dec 13 (NationPress) The Commissionerate Police in Odisha has apprehended four cyber criminals for defrauding unsuspecting victims of their hard-earned money by promising high returns on investments in a fraudulent online gaming platform.
The arrested individuals include Vaibhav Khanna (29) and Kamaljeet Singh (39) from Delhi, Tejas Kumar Mahendra Bhai Patel (26) from Gujarat, and Gugulavath Mahipal (32) from Telangana.
According to a statement from the city police, Gugulavath is a B Tech second-year dropout, while Vaibhav, Kamaljit, and Tejas have completed up to 11th, 8th, and 10th grades, respectively.
“Our officials from the Cyber Crime and Economic Offence police station, along with a special squad, conducted a raid in the Sundarpada area of the city and detained four suspicious individuals who were found operating a system using multiple electronic devices. Upon investigation, it was revealed that they were managing a fraudulent gaming app,” stated Bhubaneswar DCP Pinak Mishra.
The DCP further explained that the cybercriminals had developed a deceptive gaming application that mimicked a Chinese gaming site, WINBUZZ365. He also mentioned that a case has been registered against the four suspects under various sections of the BNS and IT Act.
During the raid, police recovered various electronic and digital devices from the suspects’ possession. The police noted that the fraudsters would entice victims to join WhatsApp and Telegram groups, offering high returns on gaming investments, specifically winbuzz365. They would share a link, www.winbuzz365.com, inviting individuals to join the group for an initial fee of Rs.100. Subsequently, they would solicit more funds from the victims to invest in the fake gaming app.
Participants were instructed to deposit money via UPI payments using QR codes. However, once the funds were sent, the victims’ accounts were locked, preventing access to their invested money, as the fraudsters had administrative control over the gaming platform and diverted the funds to their accounts through a payment gateway.
The suspects reportedly earned between Rs.30,000 and Rs.40,000 each while executing these operations and had been orchestrating this illegal gaming fraud for six months.
