3 held in Kotwali for QR code fraud

Gorakhpur: Three cyber fraudsters were arrested from an apartment for running a racket involving fake merchant QR codes used as channel for proceeds of cyber-crimes in Kotwali area, police said on Wednesday.

The accused, Sanket Rai, resident of Basdila Gunakar village under Tamkuhiraj police station in Kushinagar, Touheed Alam of Shaheed Abdullah Nagar in Gorakhnath and Raj Singh of Awas Vikas Colony in Shahpur lived in a rented flat in Kotwali for past two years and operated the fraud network from there.

SP City Nimish Patil and CO Kotwali Omkar Dutt Tiwari said Sanket Rai was mastermind of the gang. The accused used forged documents to create merchant QR codes on digital payment platforms and used them to receive, transfer and withdraw money generated through cyber fraud.

During interrogation, the accused confessed to persuading individuals to open mule bank accounts. Using forged PAN cards and voter ID cards, the accounts were fraudulently registered as merchant accounts on payment platforms. Merchant QR codes and sound boxes were then linked to these accounts, increasing transaction volumes and delaying detection or freezing of the accounts even after complaints were lodged on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP).

Police recovered forged PAN cards, bank account details and Aadhaar card photographs from the accused. Preliminary scrutiny of the accounts indicated transactions worth crores of rupees linked to cyber fraud cases reported in multiple states.

Police said the gang’s network extended to Bihar and other states. Further investigation has revealed the involvement of additional suspects, and efforts are underway to trace and arrest them. The operation was carried out by cyber commando SI Upendra Singh, the anti-theft team and Kotwali police.