Police in Madhya Pradesh have uncovered and arrested members of an interstate cyber fraud gang that used fake identities and matrimonial websites to cheat victims out of over ₹11 crore across multiple states, seizing dozens of phones and bank accounts in the process.
Police in Mandsaur, Madhya Pradesh, have broken up an interstate cyber fraud network that investigators say used matrimonial websites and fake romantic identities to cheat victims out of more than ₹11 crore, or about $1.3 million. Six people, including the suspected ringleader, have been arrested in connection with the case, which police say stretched across Rajasthan and Bihar.
According to the police account reported by the Free Press Journal, the group relied on more than 150 mule bank accounts and SIM cards to carry out at least 150 frauds. Investigators also seized 22 Android phones, 30 SIM cards and five ATM cards, while freezing more than ₹8 lakh held in various accounts.
One of the clearest examples involved a woman from Shamgarh, who police said was contacted by a man posing as an NRI through a matrimonial site. He allegedly built trust with fake photographs and WhatsApp messages that appeared to involve relatives, then claimed that a gift sent from overseas had been held by customs. The victim was reportedly persuaded to pay supposed duty and processing fees into multiple accounts and transferred ₹7.5 lakh before realising she had been deceived.
Mandsaur superintendent of police Vinod Kumar Meena said a special team spent nearly two months analysing technical evidence, digital communications and banking trails before raids were carried out in Jaipur and Arwal district in Bihar. Police said many of the SIM cards used in the operation were sourced from Agra, Firozabad, Delhi and Bihar, while some cards and bank accounts were arranged from Bhopal. Officers added that the suspects repeatedly moved between states to withdraw cash and, when accounts were frozen, allegedly destroyed phones, SIM cards, passbooks and ATM cards before shifting to new identities.
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