Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, May 31: Cyber Police Kashmir today arrested a Srinagar-based notorious con-man involved in dozens of online cheating and fraud cases.
In this regard, a team of Cyber Police Kashmir apprehended Haroon Fayaz Bazaz, son of Fayaz Ahmad Bazaaz resident of Alamgari Bazaar, Srinagar from New Delhi.
“The accused has duped dozens of people on the pretext of selling online clothes and cheap airline tickets, and he was mainly operating from Delhi and Goa.”
Cyber Police Kashmir said that it received a complaint from one Ishfaq Ahmad, son of Ghulam Mohammad Bhat resident of Bandipora, to the effect, that on 25-09-2021, while using the social media site Facebook, he saw a post uploaded by one Facebook user having a Facebook page ‘Craft Core Exports’ dealing with winter clothes collection.
“Accordingly, he contacted the said Facebook user on his given mobile number, who introduced himself as a wholesale dealer of clothes, presently running a shop in the name of Haroon Bazaz & Co, located at 8/21 Jangpur Extension, South Delhi.”
The complainant, police said, ordered some clothes and electronic items online from him, for which he transferred a staggering amount of Rs 3,61,000 into the accused’s bank account.
“After that, the said Facebook user switched off his phone. Later on, the complainant came to know that the said Facebook user is a notorious cheater /fraudster who is impersonating himself as a businessman via social media platforms to defraud innocent people of their hard-earned money,” police said.
On the receipt of this information, case FIR No. 25/2021 under relevant sections of law was registered and an investigation was taken up.
During the investigation, police came to know from media channels that this online fraudster has not only duped the complainant, but also dozens of other innocent people in Kashmir valley on the pretext of cheap airline ticket fraud.
“The Modus Operandi of the accused was to create fake Social Media profiles to impersonate authentic travel agencies and then post advertisements for cheap air tickets with the best offers. People, in an urgency to travel by Air, search low price travel tickets on social media sites and upon click-baiting to the accused’s site, they would get trapped in this fraud.”
Gullible customers, police said, shared personal details and make online payments to the fraudster’s bank account.
“After paying money online, the said fraudster would not provide tickets to customers and when customers called him, his mobile number would be switched off siphoning off the money of gullible citizens.”
Police said that almost a dozen complaints of such nature were received from different persons and accordingly, another case FIR No. 27/2022 was registered by Police Station Cyber.
“Strenuous efforts were made to arrest the accused, however, the accused deftly evaded arrest by frequently changing his locations. Utilizing technical expertise and investigative acumen of the Cyber Police team, the accused was found to be in New Delhi.”
Keeping in view the sensitivity and nature of offenses committed by the accused, police said, on the directions of Inspector General of Police, Kashmir Zone, Srinagar a special team of Cyber Police Kashmir was deputed to New Delhi and with the assistance of Delhi Police, the accused was arrested from Paharganj area of New Delhi.
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