A Calcuttan was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly cheating at least five people in the US by posing as an official of a reputable anti-virus provider and convincing them to install a software to get a fictitious “refund”.
Calcutta police took up the case after being alerted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation through Interpol.
According to the alert, the FBI had come across an online fraudster named Danish Ahmed who allegedly posed as “Austin Parker” and cheated at least five people in the US between December 2022 and March 2023.
“We received information that the accused and his team posed as representatives of an anti-virus company who would convince people that a refund was due to them. To get it, they would have to install a software on their phones or laptops. Once done, the fraudsters would take control of their device and then their bank accounts to make fraudulent transactions,” said an officer of the cyber cell in Lalbazar.
The police said they had electronic evidence that Ahmed had accessed a Bitcoin account through an internet protocol (IP) address that “Austin Parker” had used to contact his victims.
“We found that the fraudulent transactions were made using the IP address of a device while it as in cities like Panaji, Jabalpur and Gurgaon. Based on this, we inferred Austin Parker and Danish Ahmed — who lives in Calcutta — is the same person. Ahmed had been robbing people overseas and transferring the amounts to his Bitcoin account,” the officer said.
A cyber police team raided his home at 5C Nurullah Doctor Lane near Circus Avenue on Tuesday morning and picked up Ahmed.
During the search, the police seized Rs 4.99 lakh and 13 wristwatches of international brands, suspected to have been purchased using the proceeds of crime.
The mobile number the FBI shared, which was allegedly used in committing the fraud, has been seized from Ahmed, the police said.
Ahmed will be produced before a city court. He has been charged under sections of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and sections of the IT Act.