New Delhi, A 22-year-old man, who allegedly used fake UPI payment screenshots to cheat shopkeepers and then stole their mobile phones to carry out unauthorised financial transactions, has been arrested by the Delhi Police, an official said on Wednesday.
“An e-FIR was registered at the Cyber North police station and further investigation was taken up. During the investigation, technical analysis of banking and UPI transactions and telecom records led police to a mule bank account held by Shahina , a resident of Malka Ganj. Nikhil Yadav was arrested on August 20 following an investigation into a ₹ 1 lakh cyber fraud reported by a clothes shop owner in Delhi’s Sadar Bazar, the officer said. The cumulative cheated amount in the cases detected so far is more than ₹ 30.81 lakh, police said, adding that further investigation is underway. After the shopkeeper found that the payment had not been received, the accused allegedly gained access to his mobile phone and transferred ₹ 1 lakh from his bank account.
Yadav targeted small shops during routine, low-value purchases and showed the shopkeepers a fake or digitally manipulated payment screenshot to make them believe that the transaction had gone through, according to police. Yadav purchased clothes from Goyal and displayed a fake payment screenshot, according to the police. She was apprehended and disclosed that she had transferred the money to Tarun , of Burari,” the officer said. Tarun was subsequently apprehended and told police that the money was handed over in cash to Yadav.
“When the shopkeeper checked his bank account and found that no money had been credited, Yadav offered to help resolve the payment issue and attempted to gain access to the victim’s mobile phone.
If the phone was not handed over, he allegedly tried to observe or obtain the victim’s mobile or UPI credentials before stealing or snatching the device,” the police officer said.
