Cyberattack: A strange cyber fraud case involving a group of fraudsters who reportedly used the GST Identity Numbers of famous cricketers and Bollywood stars to acquire their PAN information has come to light. Via a Pune-based fintech business called “One Card,” the offenders were able to apply for credit cards in the names of the celebrities using this information.
Celebrity details used for scam
Abhishek Bachchan, Shilpa Shetty, Madhuri Dixit, Emraan Hashmi, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were among the important personalities whose information and identities were used by the scammers, according to Rohit Meena, the deputy commissioner of police in Shahadra.
DCP Meena said, “Since investigation into the matter is underway, we cannot comment further on it.” After the fraudsters had used some of the credit cards issued in the celebrities’ names to make purchases worth Rs. 21.32 lakh, the fintech startup became aware of the situation. They swiftly informed the Delhi Police, who acted immediately and apprehended five individuals – Puneet, Mohd Asif, Sunil Kumar, Pankaj Mishar, and Vishwa Bhaskar Sharma.
How did the criminals operate?
Sources from the Delhi Police reveal that the accused worked together in a highly unusual manner to carry out the fraudulent scheme. Sources revealed that, “After arrest, when they were interrogated, they disclosed their unique modus operandi. They used to get GST details of these celebrities from Google. They were very well aware that the first two digits of GSTIN are state code and the next 10 digits are PAN number.”
Later, “Since the celebrities date of birth are available on Google, these two — PAN and date of birth — complete the PAN details. They got the PAN cards remade fraudulently putting their own pictures on it so that during video verification, their looks match with the photo available on PAN/Aadhaar card.”
One of the examples of the fraud’s extent was Abhishek Bachchan’s PAN card, which had his PAN and date of birth but featured a photograph of one of the accused. The fraudsters also falsified their Aadhaar details in a similar manner. Using these fake documents, they proceeded to apply for credit cards.
During the mandatory video verification process, the scammers were asked questions related to their financial history, which they answered with ease as they had obtained all such information from CIBIL. The source of the information disclosed that the fraudsters were aware that the celebrities whose identities they were stealing probably had good CIBIL scores, which would increase their chances of getting approved for the credit cards.
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