The Central division cyber crime police on Wednesday arrested two persons, including a foreign national, for creating a fake website in the name of a well-known pharmaceutical company and cheating people hoping to buy Remdesivir and other drugs used for the treatment of COVID-19. Ten bank accounts, which the accused used, with deposits amounting to around ₹4 lakh, have been frozen.
The police also seized 110 SIM cards and four mobile phones from the duo, identified as Mohammed Ismail Khadri, 43, from Vidyaranyapura, and Alade Abdulla Yusuf, 26, from Nigeria, residing in Yelahanka .
“Khadri is the owner of a mobile phone repair shop where he also sells SIM cards. He used fake IDs to get SIM cards for Yusuf and open bank accounts,” said a police officer. “The accused would ask people to transfer money online, and then switch off their mobile phones once the transaction went through.”
As soon as the money landed in the bank account, they would wire it to other accounts in an attempt to hoodwink officials and prevent customers from blocking the transactions.
“With their arrest, the police have solved four cases of online fraud reported in the recent past,” said M. N, Anucheth, DCP (Central division).
The police are analysing call record details of the seized mobile phones to ascertain if others were involved in the scam.
