Goa police arrest man for cyber fraud involving over Rs 1cr

Panaji: Goa police on Monday arrested a man in connection with alleged digital cyber fraud involving over Rs 1 crore. Goa police said that the accused’s bank account is linked to 13 criminal cases across 10 states, involving a total amount of over Rs 9 crore.SP (cybercrime) Rahul Gupta said that based on a Quepem resident’s complaint, the cybercrime police station registered an FIR.“The user of WhatsApp numbers 790XXXX009 and 898XXXX297, with their common intention, impersonated law enforcement officers and told the complainant that he was a suspect in a money laundering scam related to the Naresh Goyal case. The accused also showed the complainant an arrest warrant against his name and coerced him into transferring a total amount of over Rs 1 crore through multiple transactions in different bank accounts,” the SP said.Gupta said that the accused cheated the complainant through impersonation using computer sources.“Based on investigation and financial analysis, a suspect was identified. Police arrested one Gokul Prakash M K, a resident of West Kannur, Kerala,” Gupta said.“During the investigation, based on technical and financial analyses, it was revealed that Rs 24 lakh linked to cybercrime was traced to the accused's bank account. His account is linked to 13 criminal cases across 10 states, including Goa,” Gupta said.The accused was produced before the court and is presently in police custody. Further investigation is underway under the supervision of cybercrime PI Deepak Pednekar.