Security agencies in India have arrested 10 alleged cyber criminals who posed as Indian Army personnel and duped over 60 people.

The operation was launched after inputs were received from the Military Intelligence (MI) unit of the Southern Army Command. The alleged gang was operating from along the border junction of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi, and Rajasthan, and used multiple SIM cards, mobile phones, and bank accounts.

They adopted an "efficient method" of duping where they made a notional payment to verify the transaction for renting a property or buying some goods, primarily a second-hand vehicle, and then requested victims to share OTPs or scan QR codes, which led to the reverse transfer of funds from the victim's accounts. The gang was busted after the apprehension of a "notorious" cyber criminal and alleged kingpin in the case, Sanjeev Kumar.

Nine other individuals accused of duping innocent civilians were subsequently apprehended. Over 30 mobile phones, 206 SIM cards, seven laptops, a number of "fabricated" military ID cards, defence canteen cards, PAN numbers, and Aadhaar cards, among other items, were found by the police during this operation.

Police cases were filed against the gang and the kingpin in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, among other places.

(With PTI Inputs)