Bhubaneswar, Jul 10 (PTI) The crime branch of Odisha Police on Wednesday arrested 15 cybercriminals for their alleged involvement in a series of cyber-crime cases related to crypto, stock and IPO investment frauds, a senior police officer said.

A gang was cheating people in the guise of investment schemes promising high returns.

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The gang members used to pursue people to make investments by transferring funds into the accounts of cyber fraudsters, he said.

“We have arrested 15 people of the gang, which is involved in fraud in different states of India. While the two masterminds belong to New Delhi, the other 13 accused are from Odisha,” the Additional DGP of the crime branch in Bhubaneswar, Arun Bothra, said.

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The arrests were made on the basis of a complaint lodged by a victim from Bhubaneswar in the cybercrime unit.

On March 29, the victim received a message on Facebook inviting him to join a WhatsApp group focused on institutional trading with discounts on shares and promising high investment returns, a police official said.

The victim initially invested Rs 5 lakh from his wife's account. Over a period of time, he transferred a total of Rs 3.04 crore from five of his accounts to various accounts specified by cyber criminals until June 11.

Despite his attempts, the victim was unable to withdraw any funds, the police said.From the verification in the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal (NCRP) of the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Odisha crime branch found that these accused have been involved in a series of cyber frauds in the country.

The police have seized 20 mobile phones, 42 SIM cards, 20 debit cards, three chequebooks, three PAN cards and five Aadhaar cards from the accused.

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