Ahmedabad: New hotspots are emerging in India’s cybercrime landscape. Not very long ago, regions such as Jamtara in Jharkhand, Alwar and Bharatpur in Rajasthan, and Mewat and Nuh in Haryana were notorious for cybercrime activities.Now, Gujarat has entered the scene, with Banaskantha, Mehsana and Bhavnagar becoming areas of concern for the state police.This change comes as Gujarat police begin closely monitoring crimes and arrests in these three districts. The development follows the arrest of Kutiyana MLA Kandhal Jadeja’s aunt Hiralba Jadeja, who is accused of operating a ‘digital arrest’ scam. According to police, Hiralba was behind a group that cheated people in Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The victims were forced to transfer money, amounting to a total of Rs 3.96 crore.The money was deposited into several bank accounts.Porbandar police have registered a case of cyberfraud against Hiralba and five others — Hitesh Odedra, Parth Songela, Mohan Vaja, Ajay Chauhan and Raju Mer. Legal proceedings are underway. A senior Gujarat police official said, “We have found that there are multiple gangs operating from Bhavnagar, Mehsana and Banaskantha who are cheating people through digital arrest and stock market investment fraud. Bhavnagar has turned into the hub of bogus or dummy firms which are used in hawala transactions of money obtained through cyberfraud.” The officer explained that people previously working in Alang and Bhavnagar moved into this illegal activity, setting up fake companies and offering bank accounts for fraud use. Another officer from Gandhinagar noted that Banaskantha and Mehsana were earlier known for cricket betting. Now, those involved in gambling have started helping cyberfraud gangs by giving them access to bank accounts and systems.“First, these gamblers and bettors from Banaskantha and Mehsana provided logistics support such as accounts and systems to fraudsters from neighbouring Rajasthan. Gradually, these people from Banaskantha and Mehsana learned the ropes of cyberfraud and ventured into it,” the officer said. Police have also noticed a rise in fraudulent bank accounts in cities such as Ahmedabad and Surat. “Cybercrooks use mules like migrant labourers to open bank accounts. So, even if police trace an account, it turns out to be of a factory worker or a security guard,” another officer said.
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