Fake customer care agents busted in Deoghar, five held in cyber fraud case

Deoghar police have arrested five people suspected of involvement in cyber fraud during a raid in the Sarath police station area, officials said.

The arrests were made on September 27 as part of an ongoing police crackdown on cybercrime. According to police, the suspects allegedly used multiple impersonation tactics, posing as customer care executives, Airtel Payments Bank officials and representatives of government schemes to target potential victims.

Acting on a tip-off, a police team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Kailash Prasad Mahato conducted the raid.

The arrested suspects were identified as Sarfaraz Alam of Baramsia in Sarath, Vijay Kumar Das of Simratari in Patharol, Shivam Kumar Das of Charkamara in Sarath, Nitesh Kumar of Daundia in Sonaraithadhi and Abhay Kumar Das of Ledwa in Patharol.

Police said the suspects allegedly posed as customer care representatives of platforms including Flipkart, Amazon Pay, Google Pay and PhonePe. They reportedly contacted victims with promises of cashback and other offers in an attempt to obtain sensitive information or gain access to their devices.

Investigators also alleged that the group used APK files disguised as documents or applications linked to schemes and services such as PM-Kisan, electricity bills and RTO challans. Victims were allegedly encouraged to install the files, which could potentially give fraudsters access to information on their mobile devices.

In another alleged method, the suspects posed as Airtel Payments Bank officials. Police said they allegedly told customers that their cards had been blocked and offered to help reactivate them through the Airtel Thanks app.

During the operation, police recovered five mobile phones and eight SIM cards. A technical examination of the seized devices and numbers reportedly found links between some of them and cyber-fraud complaints registered in different states.

Police said the technical investigation included examination of the seized mobile numbers and IMEI numbers, which helped identify complaints allegedly associated with the suspects' devices and SIM cards.

One of the arrested suspects, Sarfaraz Alam, had also allegedly been named in earlier cases. Police said his name had appeared in Deoghar Cyber Police Station Case No. 125/25 and Shikaripara Police Station Case No. 115/24 in Dumka.

The arrests highlight the increasingly varied methods used in online fraud, with criminals often impersonating trusted companies, banks or government agencies. Police have advised people not to install APK files received through unsolicited messages or calls and to independently verify claims about blocked bank accounts, cashback offers or government schemes before taking any action.

The investigation is continuing, and police are examining whether the accused are linked to other cyber-fraud complaints registered in Jharkhand and other states.