New Delhi:
Six people, including the alleged mastermind, a website developer and three tele-callers, have been arrested for allegedly running a fake airline job racket using websites, police said on Monday.
The accused allegedly targeted job seekers through advertisements on social media and demanded Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 as admission or registration fees for a purported aviation diploma, promising jobs at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, they said.
“The racket came to light after a complainant told police that he had come across a social media advertisement for a job with “Bretish Airways”. He filled in his details and was subsequently contacted by a woman posing as an HR executive named ‘Karishma’,” police said.
The woman allegedly collected his Aadhaar card, PAN card, marksheets and CV and told him that an Airport/Aviation Management diploma from “Future Wings Learning Institute” was mandatory for the job.
The complainant paid Rs 7,000 through UPI, following which he was allegedly sent fake admission and NOC slips and a job offer letter.
After finding that no airline by the name “Bretish Airways” existed and when the accused stopped responding to his calls, the victim filed a complaint on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) helpline 1930.
A case was registered on July 14 under relevant sections of the BNS.
During investigation, police analysed mobile numbers, Internet Protocol Detail Record (IPDR) and broadband details, website registration records and the UPI and bank transaction trail.
The suspects were traced to Noida, following which alleged mastermind Sandeep Kumar, 23, and his associate Akhil Kumar, 27, were arrested on August 18.
Police said Sandeep had earlier worked as a tele-caller for fake aviation-job companies and later started a fraudulent venture before entering into a 50-50 partnership with Akhil.
The duo allegedly operated the fake companies from a rented office in Noida and hired a website developer to create their websites. They also purchased job-seeker data from online portals and employed women as tele-callers, who allegedly posed as HR executives and persuaded candidates to pay for aviation courses as a prerequisite for employment.
Police said the accused sent fake admission slips, certificates and offer letters to maintain the confidence of victims. They frequently changed offices and websites and discarded SIM cards and mobile phones to evade detection.
After complaints emerged against “Bretish Airways”, the accused allegedly launched new fake websites under the names “Shankh Airways” and “Excellence Learning Institute”.
Those arrested include Sandeep Kumar, Akhil Kumar, website developer Rakesh Kumar, 47, and tele-callers Shweta, Sapna and Sakshi, 20.
Police seized two laptops, eight mobile phones, eight SIM cards and two registers containing job-seeker data and other information.
Scrutiny of the NCRP revealed 10 complaints linked to the fake airline and the mobile numbers or bank accounts allegedly used by the accused.
Police said the actual extent of the fraud was being ascertained and further investigation was underway to identify other members of the syndicate.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
