Two held for duping people promising jobs in online marketplace

Electronic gadgets and bank credentials were also recovered from accused Moninder Shrivastav 42 and Pramod Prabhakar 40, they said, adding that bank accounts with more than Rs 5 lakh were also seized.

Two men were arrested for duping people of lakhs of rupees on the pretext of providing jobs in Amazon, a major online marketplace, police said on Monday. Electronic gadgets and bank credentials were also recovered from accused Moninder Shrivastav (42) and Pramod Prabhakar (40), they said, adding that bank accounts with more than Rs 5 lakh were also seized. The matter came to the fore in April when a complaint was filed by one of the victims who alleged that she had been duped for Rs 4 lakh by fraudsters, police said.

In her complaint, the woman alleged she was asked to click on the link received through an SMS on her mobile phone. After clicking the link, Rs. 4 lakh was debited from her bank account, a senior police official said. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) Esha Pandey said that the probing team obtained call details as well as IMEI numbers of mobile phone numbers through which the victim received the link. ''With the help of technical surveillance, the team found out the name of the alleged bank account holder to which the money was transferred by the victim. His identity was established as Moninder Shrivastav, a resident of Shakarpur. The team raided his residence and subsequently apprehended him,'' she said.

When questioned, Shrivastav disclosed the name of his associate -- Prabhakar, a resident of Noida, who was also involved with him in committing the offense. Later, Prabhakar was arrested from his residence in Noida, the DCP added.

Two laptops, two mobile phones, one mobile tablet, four debit cards, and five cheque books of different bank accounts were recovered from their possession, Pandey said.

In addition to it, bank accounts with more than Rs 5 lakh were also seized, she said. During interrogation, both the accused disclosed that they generated links to random people containing URLs to get employed in Amazon. They did this by hacking the victim's mobile phone as soon as he or she clicks the link. Eventually, an OTP was sent to the victim for initiating a money transaction, the DCP said. ''They further disclosed that four other persons were also involved with them in committing the offenses. Further investigation of the case is under progress to nab them,'' she said. Shrivastav has pursued BTech and is a web developer while Prabhakar, who has pursued BSc, worked as a freelancer in e-commerce companies. No previous involvement in criminal activity has been found against the accused, police said.

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