Delhi Police Busted Online Lottery Scam

According to the Delhi Police special cell, it has smashed a phishing e-mail scam along with a criminals' gang that included global Internet lottery defrauders. On January 27, 2010, the police arrested three Nigerians from Mahavir Nagar and Tilak Nagar (Delhi).

The arrest followed a complaint to the police that a criminal gang had duped innocent parties of Rs.700,000 in an Internet lottery.

The police states that the gang initially used to gather information about Indian Internet users via phishing attempts. Subsequently, it distributed e-mails that talked about prize and lottery winners to lure them. It also asked the e-mail recipients to credit Rs.50,000 to particular bank accounts for processing the lottery claims and thereafter the gangsters stole all the money.

The police further said that the gangsters defrauded approximately 30-35 individuals and accumulated some Rs.1.5 Crores. Of that sum, some was sent to their families while the rest was utilized for their lavish living in the city, it added.

The police also disclosed that the gangsters provided a UK telephone number in the online phishing messages to gain the recipients' trust. When users called the number, they got redirected to some cell-phone numbers used in Delhi.

Furthermore, it is reported that the gang members arrived in Delhi during the 1st week of December 2009. When they were arrested, the police seized 4 laptops, 5 data cards, 16 ATM cards and 6 mobile phones from them.

The arrest of Nigerian nationals in India on account of lottery frauds isn't something new. During May 2009, the police detained a Nigerian man for planning out an Internet lottery scam in partnership with some other accomplices and then robbing a Kalpakkam (India) resident.

As per the sources, the person 'K. Ramamoorthy' from Kalpakkam complained of an agency, which sent him spam mails in December 2007. The agency, claiming to be Yahoo Lottery Award congratulated him on getting a prize valuing Rs.4 crores. Thereafter, the accused directed him to credit Rs.14.68 lakhs to various bank accounts to meet the service as well as transferring expenses of the prize-money, Ramamoorthy narrated.

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» SPAMfighter News - 2/5/2010