Delhi Police arrested 10 in a cyber fraud syndicate from Jharkhand and Delhi-NCR, stealing over ₹26 lakh via malware and impersonation scams.

New Delhi:Delhi Police on Monday busted an interstate cyber fraud syndicate operating from Jharkhand and Delhi-NCR and arrested 10 people, officers said on Monday.

The accused allegedly cheated victims of over ₹26 lakh through APK malware-based banking frauds, impersonation scams and remote-access financial frauds.

Police said the accused posed as bank officials or government agencies representatives and utility providers and convinced victims to install malicious APK files sent through WhatsApp. Once installed, the fraudsters had access to victims’ mobile phones, internet banking credentials and OTPs, enabling them to siphon money from their accounts.

“The investigation uncovered a larger organised cyber fraud ecosystem operating from the Jamtara-Deoghar belt. The accused were sharing mobile phones, SIM cards, mule bank accounts, UPI IDs and internet connectivity to facilitate cyber frauds across multiple states. Investigation is underway to identify other members,” deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Amit Goel said.

The breakthrough came while probing four cyber fraud cases, including one in which a senior citizen lost ₹18.5 lakh to the cyber fraudsters. Police said the victim installed a malicious APK file and later found multiple unauthorised transactions from his account.

Police raided remote villages in Jamtara and Deoghar and arrested six of the accused, including the alleged kingpin who operated devices used for unauthorised banking transactions.

In other three cases, police arrested four more accused linked to credit card KYC fraud, fake M-Parivahan challan APK scams and a case in which fraudsters impersonated BSES officials to steal ₹6.31 lakh.

Police recovered a Mahindra Thar Roxx allegedly purchased using proceeds of crime, 14 mobile phones, a laptop and digital evidence linking the accused to the frauds.