Representional.

Multi crore international extortion scam unearthed; 8 arrested

New Delhi: Delhi Police informed that it had found a multi-crore fraud involving international fraudsters and extortionists with direct links with Chinese nationals. The said fraudsters were involved in extorting money at an organized level, IANS reported citing a police officer's account.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (IFSO) KPS Malhotra told IANS that the main scammer of Indian origin and seven others were arrested regarding the case from various parts of the country.

He said that the scammers inducted malware into the victims' phones, dug out their data by hacking and used it for extortion. They also targeted women by morphing their photos to extort them, the officer said.

Police found Rs 8.25 crore in one of the accused's accounts. This was earned through cheating and extortion, IANS learned. According to DCP Malhotra, there are 25 more similar accounts police have identified.

The entire scam is linked to a mastermind in China. They extorted money was sent to China, Hong Kong and Dubai through Cryptocurrency in Chinese national's accounts. "The identity of three Chinese nationals, who were operating from different countries, has been uncovered," the DCP said.

The police have seized 16 debit cards, 22 cheque books and 26 passbooks and froze more than 25 bank accounts that were having an amount of more than Rs 11 lakh. Three SUVs were also recovered from the arrested scamsters.

According to the DCP, what came out is just the 'tip of the iceberg of this multi-crore scam.

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