Hyderabad, March 11 Four individuals who allegedly supplied SIM cards used in online betting and gaming frauds have been arrested here, police said on Wednesday.
The Cyber Crime Police arrested the four accused in connection with a case registered after a 36-year-old resident here lost Rs 1.5 crore in an online cricket betting fraud.
"They supplied SIM cards in the names of their family members and friends, which were used in online betting and gaming frauds through fake social media advertisements," a statement from the Hyderabad Police said.
Regarding the modus operandi of the accused, police said one of the accused, who previously worked in a cricket betting call center in Dubai, after returning to India, approached certain members of his locality and requested them to provide SIM cards.
He assured them that he would pay Rs 600 for each SIM card. Accordingly, three other accused collected SIM cards registered in the names of their family members and friends and handed them over to him. Then he went to Dubai and supplied 250 SIM cards to other accused and was paid Rs 1,200 for each SIM card. The SIM cards were used for online cricket betting and other online betting games, police said.
Police further said that the other absconding accused created a betting website and contacted the victims by posing as customer care support representatives.
They called the victims and assured them that the website was genuine and profitable. By pretending to assist the victims in creating accounts and placing bets, they gained the victims' trust and encouraged them to deposit money into the betting platform, police said.
The accused deliberately misled the victims by promising high returns and continuous support. Once the victims invested their money, the accused manipulated the betting results and prevented the victims from withdrawing their funds, police said. Efforts are underway to trace the money trail, freeze additional accounts, and apprehend the absconding accused, the release added.