New Delhi, August 4, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Cyber Police Station of Delhi’s Central District has busted a fake placement racket allegedly operating under the name “Next Step Advisors” and arrested seven people, including the alleged mastermind, for cheating unemployed job seekers on the pretext of providing employment.
Police said the accused were running the placement agency without registration and allegedly collected money from job aspirants as registration, processing and account-opening fees after promising them jobs. During the investigation, five complaints filed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) were found linked to the mobile numbers and bank accounts allegedly used in the fraud.
Police have seized mobile phones, registration forms, payment records and details of bank accounts suspected to have been used in the operation. Further investigation is underway to identify more victims and assess the total amount involved in the alleged scam.
The case was registered after a resident of Bapa Nagar in Karol Bagh approached the Cyber Police Station, Central District, alleging that he received a WhatsApp message from a person claiming to be an HR representative of a job portal following his online job application.
According to the complaint, he was called for an interview on July 25 at an office located at Building C-3, Jeevan Park, Som Bazar, Uttam Nagar. During the interview process, he was allegedly asked to deposit ₹4,800 as registration and account-opening charges. After making the online payment, he received a form carrying the name “Next Step Advisors”.
The complainant was allegedly assured that the amount would be refunded after joining the job. However, no employment was provided and the money was not returned. The phone numbers provided by the agency later became unreachable.
Following preliminary verification, police registered FIR No. 37/2026 on August 1 under Sections 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and initiated an investigation.
A special team comprising Sub-Inspector Ankur Sejwal, Head Constables Diksha and Deepak was formed under the supervision of the Station House Officer of Cyber Police Station, Central District, and ACP Operations.
Investigators analysed mobile numbers, payment trails through Paytm and UPI transactions, and beneficiary bank accounts before conducting a raid at the Jeevan Park office in Dabri, Uttam Nagar. Police said the raid revealed that a fake placement agency was being operated in the name of “Next Step Advisors”.
According to police, the accused allegedly posted attractive job vacancies on online job portals and contacted unemployed candidates through WhatsApp and phone calls while posing as HR executives. After conducting what investigators described as fake interviews, candidates were allegedly informed that they had been selected and were asked to pay fees ranging from ₹3,000 to ₹4,000.
Police alleged that after receiving the payments, the accused neither provided jobs nor refunded the money, while ignoring calls and messages from victims.
The arrested accused have been identified as Preeti Malhotra (34), a resident of Uttam Nagar and the alleged mastermind; Divya (33), Lalita alias Pinkey (32), Naina (33), and Priyanka (28), who allegedly worked as HR executives; Kapil Kumar Sharma (30), a resident of Alwar, Rajasthan; and Lalit Kumar (28), a resident of Najafgarh, who allegedly worked as field staff.
Delhi Police advised job seekers to verify the credentials of placement agencies before making any payment towards registration or processing charges. Citizens facing cyber fraud have been advised to contact the National Cyber Crime Helpline at 1930 or report incidents through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
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