A call from a friend who is in need of some money, sounds like a genuine request. Doesn’t it? Maybe not. In today’s world of cyber crime, a seemingly innocent WhatsApp call set off a chain of events where an individual was duped and this search turned into a cybercrime investigation involving multiple modus operandis.  

Sukhdevsinh Jadeja, a resident of Salaya in Khambhaliya, received a WhatsApp call wherein an individual informed him that one of Jadeja’s friends was in grave need of funds.

The caller said that Siddiq, a friend of Jadeja, needed money for an urgent flight ticket from Mumbai to Pune. Jadeja then asked to put Siddiq on the phone but the caller said that he is away and cannot be on call right now. He was then asked to make a transfer of ₹50,000. 

As Jadeja knew Siddiq, he did not hesitate and transferred ₹43,500 through the QR code. He also paid ₹5,000 through Google Pay. He was told that the amount will be returned by the same evening. 

When Jadeja did not receive the funds back in the evening, as promised by the caller, he contacted his friend Siddiq and got to know that he wasn’t in need of any funds!

This was how Jadeja learned that he was being scammed and filed a complaint with the Salaya marine police station. The police registered this case under the IT Act, 2000, and different sections.

Further investigation was assigned to the cybercrime cell. The cybercrime cell police’s further probe led to the detention of a fisherman named Shabir Hussain Huran Bhagad.

The police probe also revealed that Bhagad was detained in 2017 in a rape case and was later on bail.

The Modus Operandi

During investigation, Bhagad revealed that he used to ask for a phone from a stranger, requesting to make a phone call. While at it, he would sneak out contact numbers of their friends and acquaintances. 

He later called the relatives and acquaintances to transfer funds into a Google Pay account in order to help their ‘this’ friend who is in need of financial help.

Many complaints were filed against Bhagad in Jamnagar, Khambhalia, Mithapur, Kalyanpur, Salaya, and many more.

Bhagad is a serial scamster. His other modus operandi included him trying to scam e-bike and laptop sellers by threatening them under the guise of being with the police.

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