Rs 2.21 lakh cyber fraud leads Delhi Police to Rs 10-Crore phishing network; five arrested

New Delhi: Delhi Police's South-West District Cyber Police Station has busted an organised cyber fraud network involved in sending phishing SMS messages impersonating traffic challans, delivery verification, and reward-related communications, officials said on Saturday.

The investigation, which began with a complaint involving an alleged fraud of Rs 2.21 lakh, led police to a wider network linked to 544 complaints registered across the country, involving cheated amounts exceeding Rs 10 crore.

Five accused -- Moti Singh Baghela, Harshpal, Vicky, Vishal Das Vaishnav, and Barjesh Kumar -- have been arrested in connection with the case.

Police said they recovered a car, a gold chain, 15 mobile phones and tablets, 59 debit cards, 52 passbooks and cheque books, 14 stamps of firms and companies, five point-of-sale machines, and eight QR-code scanners.

According to police, the case was registered after the complainant received an SMS containing a fraudulent link purportedly meant for the payment of a traffic violation challan. After clicking the link, an unauthorised transaction of Rs 2.21 lakh was made using his credit card.

Technical analysis revealed that bulk SMS activity linked to the case began around November 3, 2025, with approximately 3,300 suspicious messages sent to recipients across different parts of the country.

Police traced one of the mobile numbers used to send the messages to a school student's handset. Investigators found an application called 'Wingo Cash', which the student had received through a WhatsApp group.

According to the investigation, whenever users redeemed rewards through the application, their mobile screens remained locked for around 30 seconds. During this period, the application generated and sent between nine and 12 SMS messages containing fraudulent links related to fake traffic challans, delivery-address verification, and reward points.

Users received between Rs 1 and Rs 3 for each redemption, while their phones were used as SMS relay devices for the larger phishing operation.

Police said the financial trail initially led to an account maintained with the National Bank of Kuwait, making it difficult to establish an immediate link with the alleged operators.

However, investigators later examined the accounts used for reward payouts and traced transactions to an account in the name of Shree Balaji Enterprises, Mumbai. Police alleged that approximately Rs 2 crore was distributed through numerous small-value transactions to more than 41,000 users associated with the suspect application within just three days.

Based on technical and financial evidence, police conducted raids in Mumbai, Lucknow, Delhi, Rajasthan, and Punjab, leading to the arrest of the five accused.

The investigation also revealed a network involved in arranging company documents, current bank accounts and other banking infrastructure for commission.

Police said 544 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), involving cheated amounts exceeding Rs 10 crore, have been linked to the network.

Further investigation is underway.

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