The Delhi Police Cyber Crime team has uncovered a major crypto scam network that was cheating people through fake work-from-home job offers. One person, identified as Sukhpreet Singh (25), a resident of Agwar Pona village in Jagraon, Ludhiana, has been arrested in connection with the case. Police said the accused was a part of a Telegram-based cryptocurrency scam group. A case was registered on October 5 under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Cyber Police Station in Shahdara. The complaint was filed by Sangam Yadav, a resident of Vishvkarma Nagar, Shahdara, who claimed that he was duped after responding to an Instagram advertisement for a work-from-home job.
Fake Job Offer Turned Crypto Fraud
According to the complaint, after clicking on the Instagram ad, Yadav was redirected to a Telegram group where a woman, pretending to be an employee of a company, offered him small online tasks for money. At first, he received minor payments for completing rating-related work, which helped gain his trust. Later, he was asked to invest money for bigger tasks and ended up transferring ₹55,100 through UPI. When he tried to withdraw his supposed earnings, he was told to pay extra charges. This made him realise he had been cheated.
Police Track Money Trail and Arrest Accused
During the investigation, Delhi Police followed the money trail and discovered that ₹29,500 from the scammed amount had been exchanged at a petrol pump in Jagraon, Ludhiana. Using mobile phone location analysis, police identified Sukhpreet Singh as the suspect. After being caught and questioned, Singh confessed that he was an active member of a Telegram group dealing in USDT (a type of cryptocurrency).
Accused Used Multiple Accounts to Avoid Detection
Police said Singh used to buy USDT at market rates between ₹94 and ₹98 and sold it within the group for ₹105 per USDT. He was aware that the Indian currency he received was linked to cybercrime proceeds, and to stay hidden, he used multiple bank accounts for withdrawing money or making swaps at petrol pumps. Authorities have seized three mobile phones, six SIM cards, and twelve ATM cards from him. After being remanded to two days of police custody, Singh has been sent to judicial custody. Further investigation revealed that the cheated money was spread across several accounts, including one belonging to an unidentified Indian bank account holder who is yet to be traced.
