Latest news with #SwapnaliShinde
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Retired contractor loses Rs4cr to online share trading fraud
1 2 3 Pune: Online fraudsters duped a retired civil contractor (60) from Sinhagad Road of Rs4.17 crore between March 28 and May 30, after promising him handsome returns on his investment in online trade of shares. The victim lodged a complaint of cheating with the Pune cyber police last week, following which an FIR was lodged two days ago. Senior inspector Swapnali Shinde of the Cyber police station said, "The victim and his family members stay in an apartment on Sinhagad Road. His son is also a businessman." According to the police, the victim's phone number was added to a group on a messaging application on March 28, where the fraudsters discussed high returns from the trade of shares using an online platform. The group members, who claimed to earn a good profit, always praised the group's administrator for tips. The victim read all these messages and was impressed by the profit earned by the group members. Shinde said, "The victim decided to contact the group's administrator. The group administrator, a fraudster, told him to download an application, where he could buy and sell shares. The fraudster also sent him a link. The victim downloaded the application and started buying shares of small amounts." She said, "The fraudsters then contacted him and told him to invest in high-value shares to generate a handsome profit. The suspects promised to help him out in buying IPOs and high-value shares, which would churn out a handsome profit. The victim accepted their proposal of help. The fraudsters then shared details of 12 different bank accounts with him and told him to transfer money to these." The victim then started transferring the money. The fraudsters manipulated his application of share trading by showing his profit increasing with each transfer of money, Shinde said. "The victim made 76 high-volume transfers to 12 bank accounts, whose details were shared by the fraudsters. Gradually, the online application, which the victim downloaded, showed a profit of Rs43 crore," she said. "The victim then tried to sell the shares worth Rs1 crore, but the fraudsters did not allow him to do so. The victim made repeated calls and messaged them, but the fraudsters kept on asking for more money instead of releasing his funds," Shinde said. Following this, he ran an online search and read about such frauds. The victim then approached the police last week and submitted a complaint application. After verification of his application, the police registered the FIR.
Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
Fake cops dupe ex-DRDO officer of 1 crore with bogus money laundering case
1 2 3 Pune: Cybercrooks posing as Mumbai police officers forced a 74-year-old former Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) officer from Sinhagad Road to transfer Rs1.11 crore in the last week of May after threatening him with arrest in a bogus money laundering case. The money went to five different bank accounts before the victim realised the con and approached the police. Senior inspector Swapnali Shinde of cyber police said, "The victim stated in his complaint that the crooks called him and identified themselves as officers from Colaba police station in Mumbai. They claimed that his personal and banking credentials, and Aadhaar card details were used in money laundering transactions by an 'aviation company owner' and to clear his name, he must cooperate by giving them his bank details and making the money transfers for verification. " The officer said, "The crooks made a video call using a messaging application, and the victim spoke to the fraudsters. They were wearing 'police uniforms', and the background had the logo of Mumbai Police." Shinde said. "The fraudsters claimed that they found a large number of illegal transactions on the victim's bank account. They then sought detailed statements of the accounts. The victim gave the statements to them on the messaging application." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Here's A List Of Cheapest Steel Suppliers (See The List) Steel Suppliers | search ads Search Now Undo She said, "The suspects kept on threatening to arrest the victim until June 1 and later, they promised to help him in the case by not arresting him. They also said they would arrest him and it would bring defamation to the family, if the money was not paid to them. They demanded money in exchange for the help they offered him. They shared details of five different bank accounts, and the victim transferred the money to those. " Shinde said, "The victim exhausted all his savings, withdrew his fixed deposits (FD) and transferred the money to the five bank accounts of the suspects. The suspects had stated that they would return the money to the victim in a day or two. The victim dialled the phone numbers of the suspects, but they were switched off. He then realised that he was cheated."
Hindustan Times
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Pune varsity files complaint over fake SET paper leak posts on social media
The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) on Wednesday approached the Pune Cyber Police Station with a complaint against fake and misleading content being circulated on social media regarding a purported paper leak in the upcoming State Eligibility Test (SET). The state eligibility test (SET) examination department of SPPU, which operates under the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines and conducts the exam on behalf of the Maharashtra government, is the nodal body responsible for determining eligibility for assistant professor posts in universities and senior colleges across Maharashtra and Goa. Swapnali Shinde, inspector, cyber police, said, 'If any concrete information emerges, a press release will be issued. At this stage, the case is under investigation.' The 40th SET exam is scheduled to be held on June 15 at various college centres in 18 cities across Maharashtra and Goa. In the lead-up to the exam, some unverified claims and videos alleging a paper leak have surfaced online, triggering anxiety among aspirants. The university has categorically denied these claims and termed them baseless. 'These videos and posts have no factual basis. Students are advised not to fall for such misinformation,' the SET department said in a statement, adding that only updates issued through the official SET portal should be trusted. Rahul Sasane, representative of the University Students Action Committee, said the panel has submitted a letter to the vice-chancellor demanding probe into the issue.
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Time of India
All 118 call centre staff accused in Pune scam targeting US citizens with 'digital arrest' threats
Image used is for representational purposes only PUNE: The Pune police named all 118 call centre executives as accused in the Kharadi fake call centre case that was cracked open on Saturday. The crime branch officers are questioning five of those already arrested in the case. Senior inspector Swapnali Shinde of the cyber police station said, "We have made all of them accused in the case and served them notices asking them to cooperate with the investigations. These calling agents were aware of their crimes, hence we made them the accused." On Sunday, five teams carried out a raid in Navi Mumbai while another squad is in Ahmedabad in Gujarat on the lookout for the three suspects who ran the call centre and would visit once a fortnight. They have been reported missing. The call centre staff posed as US law enforcement officers and extorted millions of dollars from US citizens using threats of 'digital arrest' in cases of narcotics or other frauds. Police found 123 persons, including 12 women, when they raided the facility. They would rake in 30,000-40,000 USD per day, they added. The case was transferred to Pune city crime branch on Sunday and inspector Ajay Waghmare took over the investigations. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Cặp EUR/USD: Đà Tăng? IC Markets Đăng ký Undo On Saturday, police arrested Sarjitsingh Girawatsingh Shekhawat (26), Abhishekh Ajaykumar Pande (29), Shrimay Paresh Shah (31), Laxman Amarsingh Shekhawat (28), and Aron Arumugan Christian (29), all residents of Kharadi. They are natives of Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan and Ahmedabad in Gujarat and have been staying in Pune for the past year, police said. The call centre has been in operation since July 2024, and the agreement to run the call centre from Pune from hired premises was signed and executed in Jaipur in Rajasthan, police said. "We are probing why the call centre was in operation in Pune instead of Ahmedabad or Jaipur and why was the entire staff hired from Ahmedabad, Rajasthan, Delhi, Noida, and Kolkata," police said. On how the call centre was sourcing US citizens' data, a senior officer told TOI, "We suspect that some people in the US were selling data to them using the darkweb to avoid monitoring by their govt agencies. We have also seized written scripts handed over to the call centre executives. We are looking for the person or people who wrote them," Shinde said.
Time of India
25-05-2025
- Time of India
All 118 staff named accused in fake call centre case targeting US citizens
Pune: The Pune police named all 118 call centre executives as accused in the Kharadi fake call centre case that was cracked open on Saturday. The crime branch officers are questioning five of those already arrested in the case. Senior inspector Swapnali Shinde of the cyber police station said, "We have made all of them accused in the case and served them notices asking them to cooperate with the investigations. These calling agents were aware of their crimes, hence we made them the accused." On Sunday, five teams carried out a raid in Navi Mumbai while another squad is in Ahmedabad in Gujarat on the lookout for the three suspects who ran the call centre and would visit once a fortnight. They have been reported missing. The call centre staff posed as US law enforcement officers and extorted millions of dollars from US citizens using threats of 'digital arrest' in cases of narcotics or other frauds. Police found 123 persons, including 12 women, when they raided the facility. They would rake in 30,000-40,000 USD per day, they added. The case was transferred to Pune city crime branch on Sunday and inspector Ajay Waghmare took over the investigations. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với mức chênh lệch giá thấp nhất IC Markets Đăng ký Undo On Saturday, police arrested Sarjitsingh Girawatsingh Shekhawat (26), Abhishekh Ajaykumar Pande (29), Shrimay Paresh Shah (31), Laxman Amarsingh Shekhawat (28), and Aron Arumugan Christian (29), all residents of Kharadi. They are natives of Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan and Ahmedabad in Gujarat and have been staying in Pune for the past year, police said. The call centre has been in operation since July 2024, and the agreement to run the call centre from Pune from hired premises was signed and executed in Jaipur in Rajasthan, police said. "We are probing why the call centre was in operation in Pune instead of Ahmedabad or Jaipur and why was the entire staff hired from Ahmedabad, Rajasthan, Delhi, Noida, and Kolkata," police said. On how the call centre was sourcing US citizens' data, a senior officer told TOI, "We suspect that some people in the US were selling data to them using the darkweb to avoid monitoring by their govt agencies. We have also seized written scripts handed over to the call centre executives. We are looking for the person or people who wrote them," Shinde said.
