Visakhapatnam police arrested a nine-member gang allegedly involved in a fraudulent instant loan application racket and seized cryptocurrency worth ₹60 lakh. According to investigators, the case came to light after a local man took a small loan of ₹2,000 through an app. The fraudsters subsequently demanded excessive repayment and harassed the victim by sending morphed images of him and his wife to their contacts via WhatsApp. Although the victim's wife made the payment, the victim tragically died by suicide due to ongoing humiliation.
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Visakhapatnam police arrested a nine-member gang allegedly involved in a fraudulent instant loan application racket and seized cryptocurrency worth ₹60 lakh. According to investigators, the case came to light after a local man took a small loan of ₹2,000 through an app. The fraudsters subsequently demanded excessive repayment and harassed the victim by sending morphed images of him and his wife to their contacts via WhatsApp. Although the victim's wife made the payment, the victim tragically died by suicide due to ongoing humiliation.
Following a complaint from the victim's family, the city police registered a case and analyzed bank statements. Investigators discovered that the accounts received numerous small repayment deposits and moved funds through a cyclical network involving multiple company bank accounts to issue new loans and collect funds.
During the investigation, police found that one of the arrested suspects had been contacted on Telegram by two Chinese cybercriminals who offered high commissions to set up Indian firms and current bank accounts for the scam. With the help of associates, the suspect allegedly opened and provided details of roughly 132 bank accounts to the overseas operators.
Authorities seized cellphones and laptops used in the operation during the arrests. Digital verification of the suspects' mobile wallets revealed holdings of USDT cryptocurrency equivalent to over ₹60 lakh, which officials subsequently seized.
Not yet reported: The articles do not mention specific sections of the law under which the accused were charged.
The latest position in the reports we read.
Nine suspects have been arrested by the Visakhapatnam police, and investigators have seized cryptocurrency worth more than ₹60 lakh along with electronic devices.
Described in general terms; we do not name victims.
A resident of Visakhapatnam who took a ₹2,000 loan and tragically died by suicide following online harassment, alongside numerous unsuspecting individuals whose names were misused to open bank accounts.
Key dates as reported, oldest first.
The method described in the reports.
Call 1930 (free, 24x7) straight away, then file at cybercrime.gov.in. Money reported in the first hours is far easier to freeze.
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