Chennai, December 16: Cases of cyber crime are on the rise. In another such case, the Tamil Nadu Police on Thursday arrested one person who impersonated a police officer and three others in the gang for threatening and extorting money from a Karur resident. The accused has been identified as K Madhavan, B Gowtham Siddharth, S John Peter, and Santhana Swarna, who were later remanded in judicial custody.

According to a report in Indian Express, the victim identified as S Santhana Swarna Kumar, 28, of Thanthondrimalai of Karur district had received a call a couple of days ago from a person who introduced himself as Murugan, the sub-inspector of Tambaram crime police station. Cyber Fraud: Fraudsters Withdraw Rs 50 Lakh From Man's Account Just by Giving Blank Calls; Here's How One of the Biggest Frauds in Delhi Happened

Police said the person told Surendhar, a cab driver, that he had been added to a WhatsApp group where pornographic content are uploaded and hence he was required to report to the station in Chennai immediately for inquiry. The person had further said that if he failed to report, he would be arrested by the local police. After a few minutes, the person had said they could arrive at an amicable solution if Surendhar immediately transferred Rs 5,000 through GPay to the mobile number he sends. Online Fraud: 40% Indians Defrauded While Shopping Online During Festive Season, Says Study

Fearing police arrest, Surendhar had transferred the amount demanded by the person, he said.

However, when the person demanded more money, Surendhar grew suspicious, and looked for the details of the person on the ‘Truecaller’ application and found the number to be spam. He immediately reached the local police station to lodge a complaint.

The accused had indulged in similar activities in Erode, Coimbatore, and Tiruchirapalli districts, the Karur Cyber Crime found in its investigation. The gang played a walkie-talkie sound effect from YouTube while speaking to people to make them believe that the call was from a police station, police said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 16, 2022 04:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).