Mumbai: Three arrested for duping people by fake insurance renewal offers

The Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) police's cyber crime unit claims to have dismantled a group that defrauded customers by pretending to help them renew or surrender their insurance policies. Three people have been detained for their involvement in the crime, including the kingpin, identified as 24-year-old Dahisar resident Salim Akbar Siddique, and his accomplices, 24-year-olds Chand Vakil Ahmed and Mohd. Aftab Shaikh, who both live in the Malwani area of Malad.

The three were taken into custody on Wednesday night after a team from the cybercrime unit, under the direction of Police Inspector Sujitkumar Gunjkar, swooped down on an apartment on the 15th floor of the D.B. Ozone building in the Ketkipada area of Dahisar (east). The action was taken in response to a complaint filed by a resident of Mira Road, who had lost Rs. 33,000 due to the malicious intentions of the cybercriminal.

"All three accused, who are former employees of call centres that worked for insurance companies, apparently gathered the database of customer information and called up policyholders in pseudo names from mobile phones and offered to renew, update, and surrender their policies," DCP (Crime) Avinash Ambure said. They later provided Quick Response (QR) codes to policyholders for scanning to pay premiums, but they transferred the money to their own digital wallet accounts and withdrew cash from ATMs."

The trio, who have so far defrauded over 40 policyholders to the tune of Rs 11 lakh, also provided the accused fake insurance policy certificates in pdf format. The police recovered a laptop, ten mobile phones, ten debit cards, three Aadhar cards, a chequebook, a passbook, and other incriminating evidence from the accused, who have been charged under relevant provisions of the IPC and the Information Technology Act. After appearing before the district sessions court on Thursday, the three were remanded in custody until January 16. Further investigation is ongoing.