Pan-India FRAUD TO PHONE (F2P) network neutralised

Team Udayavani, Jul 3, 2021, 4:16 PM IST

Credit: iStock Photo

What is Fraud to Phone (F2P)?

The use of telecommunications products or services with the intention of illegally acquiring money from the innocents.

CyberSafe announced that a case of cyber fraud of Rs. 6.5 lakh was reported on June 11 by a 78-year old from Udaipur. F2P caller operating from Jharkhand, but the gang had several hundred operatives who were running different legs of the transactions which involved OTP fraud, Credit Cards frauds, e-Commerce frauds, fake IDs, fake mobile numbers, fake addresses, black marketing, tax evasion, money laundering and habitually dealing with stolen goods.

Joint Operations by MHA’s FCORD, MP police and several State Police Forces helped to neutralise one of the dangerous F2P gangs. According to the CyberSafe reports, within minutes of the cyber fraud report, the addresses where these were delivered in Balaghat (MP) were identified and SP Balaghat informed. MP police was most efficient in detaining the mastermind and all 33 new phones and several more were seized from him. The F2P gang bought these phones for about Rs.10,000 each and sold them in the black market for 5-10% discount. Jharkhand police have arrested the F2P caller.

Official statements further stated that a total of 8 F2P Gang masterminds (Madhya Pradesh 2, Jharkhand 4, Andhra Pradesh 2) have been arrested and nearly 300 new mobile phones bought from stolen funds seized. Further, ~900 cell phones, ~1000 bank accounts, and hundreds of UPI and e-commerce IDs of this gang were identified and are under investigation, while nearly 100 bank accounts and debit/credit cards were frozen. The operation against the F2P Gang has expanded to 18 States and 350 persons now and is ongoing.

What does this CyberSafe website do?

Check the mobile number, account number and UPI id before doing the transaction to an unknown person. CyberSafe provides this verification facility for potential victims of cyber frauds. (These identifiers were uploaded by Law Enforcement Agencies). Website: https://cybersafe.gov.in >> Verify suspected data

Please note: However, they still advise you to verify the details before making any transactions! because there can be new fake numbers, account numbers or UPI ids that are not reported yet. Also, it provides login access only to law enforcement authorities and fintech entities.

Authored by Prithveesh K.
PRITHVISION
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