A fraudster, operating from the cybercrime hotbed Mewat, was nabbed after a chase of four days across the two states of Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused, identified as Saddam Khan, (25), allegedly used to dupe people after impersonating as a relative or friend trying to repay a debt.

Saddam Khan is a resident of Mathura in Uttar Pradesh and his arrest comes on the complaint of a 24-year-old Delhi University student who claimed to have been defrauded of Rs. 40,000 by him.

According to the complainant, she received a call from an unknown number where the caller falsely identified himself as an acquaintance of her father. The imposter claimed that he needed to transfer Rs. 5,000 to her father, who had supposedly provided her number for the transaction.

The caller then took the details of her Paytm/Google Pay accounts and sent a manipulated SMS from a different mobile number, indicating a transfer of Rs. 50,000.

Shortly afterward, the accused contacted the complainant, admitting that he had unintentionally sent Rs. 50,000 instead of Rs. 5,000. He requested her to return the excess amount of Rs. 45,000 to his account. Believing his story, the complainant returned Rs. 40,000 to the accused’s Google Pay account.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (North), Manoj Kumar Meena said that during the investigation, a team meticulously conducted a comprehensive technical analysis of the Call Detail Records (CDR) and IMEI search for various mobile phones utilised in the offence.

Following the money trail, the CDR and IMEI search revealed that a call had been received from the Goverdhan-Mewat region, recognised as a hotspot for cybercrime.

“Subsequently, zeroing in on the location of the accused at Devseras village in Goverdhan, Mathura, he was apprehend after four days of continuous raids at various hideouts,” said the DCP.

On interrogation, the accused revealed that several people of his village were involved in cybercrimes and earning money through fraud. “He learnt the tricks from local cyber fraudsters and started cheating people by calling them after randomly searching any number on UPI payment gateways and made calls after learning the identity of the victim from the gateways. He would pretend to be a relative and say that he had to return money taken from his/her father,” said the DCP.

The accused used to send text messages showing that he had transferred an excess amount and would request for the same to be returned. “The accused would procure SIM cards and Bank Accounts issued on false names and addresses from Bengal, Odisha and Assam etc. and after usage he would destroy the same soon after committing the crime. The accused used to make calls to victims from open fields near the village to avoid being caught,” the DCP added.

(The story has been published via a syndicated feed with a modified headline.)