India News : A major cyber fraud racket has been busted in Uttar Pradesh’s Kanpur, where scammers impersonated senior police officers to extort money by threatening victims with arrest and public humiliation. Posing as the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime), the accused targeted people by falsely accusing them of watching obscene videos.
The case came to light after a complaint by Pramod Kumar, a resident of Shravasti. He received a phone call from a man claiming to be “DCP Crime, Kanpur,” who alleged that an investigation of Pramod’s mobile data had revealed access to objectionable content. The caller said a case had already been registered and a police team was on its way to arrest him.
To avoid arrest and public embarrassment, Pramod was asked to immediately transfer money. Panicked by the threat, he initially believed the caller. The scammers demanded ₹50,000, and when Pramod said he did not have the full amount, they asked him to send whatever he could. He eventually transferred ₹46,000 via UPI.
The scam was exposed when Pramod shared the incident with an acquaintance, who recognised it as a cyber fraud. He then approached the Kanpur Cyber Crime Police, following which an FIR was registered on December 17 and an investigation was launched.
During the probe, police discovered an organised gang operating from fields and forested areas in Kanpur Dehat. Based on technical evidence and call analysis, the cyber crime team arrested five accused, including two brothers—Suresh and Dinesh—along with Pankaj Singh, Aman Vishwakarma and Vinay Sonkar. All have been sent to jail, while a few suspects are still absconding.
DCP Crime Atul Srivastava said the gang used fear as their main weapon. One member would pose as a senior police officer, while another played pre-recorded audio clips of police sirens and vehicle horns to convince victims that the police were approaching their homes. The accused then shared QR codes or UPI IDs to collect money instantly.
Investigators also revealed that the accused used information from newspapers and social media about police postings and patrols to sound convincing. One of the accused is a graduate, while others studied up to middle and higher secondary levels. Police said at least seven people had been targeted using the same modus operandi.
Authorities have urged citizens not to panic if they receive such calls and to immediately report them to cyber crime police, warning that law enforcement agencies never threaten arrest or demand money over the phone.
