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What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
An organised gang of fraudsters that defrauded people across India with around ₹300 crores thought fake Chinese loan apps have been busted by the special task force of Uttarakhand Police, it said on Wednesday.
The STF has arrested Arnkur Dhingra, a resident of Delhi, from Gurugram in the connection with the case. Five members of the gang are said to be Chinese nationals.
“The amount of defrauded by this gang may rise as the investigation into the functioning of 15 such mobile applications progresses,” said Uttarakhand director general of police (DGP) Ashok Kumar.
According to the police, the gang member would send links to people to download certain Chinese apps that disburse online loans. Clicking on the link exposed their personal data.
Once the targeted mobile phone is compromised, the fraudsters would get access to the user’s photos and videos. “They would send obscene and edited pictures and videos to potential victims and blackmail them by threatening to circulate the images on the Internet,” said the police.
A preliminary investigation has revealed that 95 complaints have been registered against the Chinese fake loan apps on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
More than 247 complaints related to the Chinese fake loan app in Uttarakhand have been received by the Cybercrime Police, the DGP said.
Senior superintendent of police (SSP, STF, Ayush Aggarwal, said that the police busted the gang while investigating fraud of ₹19 lakhs through an online app in Dehradun and other complaints received on the NCRP portal.
A case has been registered against the gang members under sections 109, 120B, 384, 385, 419, 420, 469, 500, 501, 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and 43A, 66, 66(C), 66(D) of the IT Act.
The 15 fake Chinese loan apps include Reupego, Reupee Here, Lawanu, QuickRupee, Punch Money, Grand Loan, Dreamloan, Cashmo, Ruperiemo, Credititlan, Lendkar, Roccon, Hanglow, and Cashless App.
The Chinese gang members operating from Hong Kong have been identified as Kuang Yongguang alias Bolt, Miao Zhang alias Cicero, Wanzue Li alias Force, He Zhebo alias Leo and Difan Wang aka Scott Wang.
The STF has written to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to provide information about the travel details of the Chinese persons accused in the case in order to issue a Red Corner notice against them.
