Twelve cyber criminals in various states were arrested by the Cyber Police Department of the Cyberabad Police as nine separate cases were unearthed during a drive conducted between January 30 and February 5, 2026.
Commercial fraud emerged as the most prevalent crime during this period, accounting for five cases and seven arrests. Employment fraud cases followed, with two cases leading to three arrests, with one case being registered for part-time employment fraud and marriage fraud.
Officials also secured compensation for victims by obtaining 406 refund orders from the court in 58 cases. An amount of ₹1,04,17,082 was ordered to be refunded to the affected complainants to provide financial assistance to the victims.
One of the high-profile cases of the week involved a major online scam in which a female job seeker was defrauded of ₹20.8 million on the pretext of securing a position as a software developer in a reputed multinational company. The accused impersonated Naukri.com, a well-known job portal, and demanded money for application, interview and processing fees. After receiving more payments, they stopped responding and did not issue any appointment letter or refund.
Investigators found that the accused falsely claimed to be working for Deloitte, conducted a fake interview and repeatedly induced the victim to transfer money under various pretexts. The fraudulent amount was routed through multiple bank accounts of the mules to cover the money trail.
Two accused from Delhi have been arrested in connection with the case. Police identified Purshottam Sharma as the mastermind behind the scam, while Kuldeep Kumar alias Sunil supplied the SIM cards and bank accounts to facilitate the crime on a commission basis.
The Cybercrime Police advised the public to verify employers and recruitment portals through official channels before sharing personal information or making any payments. Officials reiterated that genuine companies do not charge money for job applications, interviews or meetings and urged victims of cyber scams to immediately report incidents through the national helpline 1930 or the cybercrime reporting portal.
Published – 07 Feb 2026 19:52 IST
