Arrest made in Bidhannagar cyber crime case: online gift card scam unraveled

• Bidhannagar cyber crime police arrest main perpetrator of online gift card scam targeting IT employees
• Accused used fake WhatsApp account in CEO's name to instruct employees to purchase Apple gift cards
• Victim alerted authorities after realizing fraudulent nature of instructions, leading to arrest

Bidhannagar cyber crime police apprehended a key member of a fraud gang for orchestrating a scam involving online gift cards, defrauding IT employees of lakhs of rupees. The accused, arrested from a neighboring state, allegedly operated by creating a fake WhatsApp account in the name of a CEO of an IT company and instructing employees to purchase Apple gift cards, leading to significant financial losses. The scam came to light after Annu Sinha, a resident of the Newtown area and an IT employee, filed a complaint with Bidhannagar cyber crime police, reporting receipt of a WhatsApp message purportedly from his company's CEO instructing him to purchase gift cards.

According to police sources, Sinha and his assistant followed the instructions, purchasing gift cards worth Rs 130,000 and sending them to the provided number, believing it to be a legitimate directive from the CEO. Upon discovering that the CEO had not issued any such instructions, Sinha realized he had fallen victim to fraud and contacted the cyber crime police. The arrest of the main perpetrator sheds light on the sophisticated nature of online scams targeting unsuspecting individuals, emphasizing the importance of vigilance and awareness in safeguarding against cyber fraud.