A cyber crime racket operating out of Mumbai has been exposed by the Malwani Police. Two men have been arrested for conning job seekers by setting up fake companies and misusing their personal documents to carry out large-scale financial fraud.
How the scam worked
The accused were targeting people searching for jobs. They would pose as recruiters, offering fake employment opportunities, and ask for documents like Aadhaar, PAN, and address proofs, claiming they were needed for job formalities.
Once they had the documents, they used them to register fake private limited companies and open current bank accounts under the victims’ names. These accounts were then used to route money gained through online fraud.
GST notice blows the lid off
The scam came to light when a 20-year-old woman from Malwani received a GST notice linked to one of these fake companies. She had shared her documents with the accused through the messaging app ‘Signal’ after being promised a job.
Police say that transactions of nearly ₹3.42 crore were made using the fake bank accounts created in her name over just four months.
Accused nabbed in Goregaon
The woman’s complaint helped police track down and arrest the two men behind the fraud, Abhishek Pandey from Borivali and Akash Vishwakarma from Kandivali. They were caught in Goregaon on Tuesday.
During questioning, the duo confessed to duping several job seekers using the same method. They were part of a larger cyber crime network and earned ₹5,000 for every fraudulent transaction made through the accounts they helped set up.
Evidence seized from the accused
The cyber team, under the supervision of DCP Anand Bhoite (Zone 11) and officers like PSI Amar Shinde and PSI D. Kurkute, has seized:
- 204 SIM
- 115 bank
- 271 debit and credit
- Laptops, mobile phones and a printer
Senior Inspector Shailendra Nagarkar confirmed that the seized items were used in running the racket.
Ongoing investigation
Police are now searching for other people linked to this cyber fraud network. The investigation also aims to identify more victims who may have unknowingly had their identities misused.
Authorities have urged job seekers to be cautious and not to share personal documents without proper verification.
