The arrested suspects were involved in at least 178 cases nationwide, with 74 of them registered in Telangana.
Thirty seven individuals from six states were arrested by the Cybercrime wing of the Hyderabad police during an out-of-state operations conducted between March 9 and June 14. The coordinated crackdown resulted in refunds totalling to over ₹14.5 crore to victims across India, as investigators unravelled a wide web of cybercrime syndicates.
The arrested suspects were involved in at least 178 cases nationwide, with 74 of them registered in Telangana. State-wise arrests included five from Andhra Pradesh, five from Delhi, two each from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, three from Rajasthan, two from Haryana, and 18 from Telangana.
The investigation led to the seizure of a range of digital and financial tools used in the commission of crimes, including 74 mobile phones, 156 cheque books, 11 debit cards, 22 SIM cards, eight bank passbooks, five rubber stamps, 115 fake company seals, 11 laptops, two OTP detectors, QR code scanners, and forged identity documents.
Among the cases detected, one involved an investment fraud in which scammers posed as representatives of Barclays Wealth Management and UP Asset Allocation Z06, luring a victim via Facebook and WhatsApp to invest ₹1.98 crore in bogus trading platforms. The victim, misled by fake returns displayed on a fraudulent website, was later asked to pay additional sums under false pretexts such as tax and conversion charges. Two men from Uttar Pradesh – Nikhil Kaushik of Noida and Amar Sharma of Kanpur – were arrested in this connection, both accused in at least 47 cases across India.
In another case, a Hyderabad-based woman entrepreneur, who runs a crystal-selling business online, was repeatedly harassed by a man posing as a customer. After she refused to engage with him, the accused posted vulgar and defamatory content about her on various platforms, including YouTube and Instagram. The accused, identified as Kuna Dharmarao alias Rohit, a 25-year-old private employee from Dilsukhnagar, Hyderabad, was arrested and put behind bars.
In a separate incident, a senior bureaucrat became the target of a digital impersonation scam, where a fake Facebook profile created in his name was used to seek money from his contacts. The accused, Arbaj Khan, a 19-year-old from Alwar, Rajasthan, had used stolen photos to impersonate Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and other high-ranking officials in an attempt to defraud citizens. He was found to be involved in at least two cases in Telangana.
The police issued an advisory urging the public not to respond to threatening video calls or messages from individuals claiming to represent government agencies such as the CBI, ED, or TRAI. Citizens were reminded that no legitimate authority conducts digital arrests or demands money over calls or apps like Skype.
Citizens have also been warned against falling for high-return investment groups on platforms like Telegram, WhatsApp, and Instagram, many of which operate without regulatory oversight. Officials strongly advise consulting only SEBI-approved apps or financial advisers before investing.
The police said that prompt reporting of suspicious activity to helpline 1930 or the cybercrime portal (cybercrime.gov.in) may help recover lost funds if acted upon immediately.
Published – June 17, 2025 08:47 pm IST
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