New Delhi, October 31, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Delhi Police’s South-West District Cyber Police Station has busted an organised cyber fraud network allegedly involved in sending phishing SMS messages impersonating traffic challans, delivery verification requests and reward-related communications, officials said on Saturday.
The investigation began with a complaint involving an alleged fraud of Rs 2.21 lakh but eventually led police to a wider network linked to 544 complaints registered across the country, with the total amount cheated exceeding Rs 10 crore.
Five accused — Moti Singh Baghela, Harshpal, Vicky, Vishal Das Vaishnav and Barjesh Kumar — have been arrested in connection with the case.
Police said they recovered a car, a gold chain, 15 mobile phones and tablets, 59 debit cards, 52 passbooks and cheque books, 14 stamps belonging to firms and companies, five point-of-sale machines and eight QR-code scanners.
According to police, the case was registered after the complainant received an SMS containing a fraudulent link purportedly meant for paying a traffic violation challan. After he clicked the link, an unauthorised transaction of Rs 2.21 lakh was carried out using his credit card.
Technical analysis revealed that bulk SMS activity linked to the case began around November 3, 2025, with approximately 3,300 suspicious messages sent to recipients across different parts of the country.
Police traced one of the mobile numbers used to send the messages to a school student’s handset. Investigators found an application called ‘Wingo Cash’, which the student had received through a WhatsApp group.
The investigation revealed that whenever users redeemed rewards through the application, their mobile screens remained locked for around 30 seconds. During this period, the application generated and sent between nine and 12 SMS messages containing fraudulent links related to fake traffic challans, delivery-address verification and reward points.
Users received between Rs 1 and Rs 3 for each redemption, while their phones were allegedly used as SMS relay devices for the larger phishing operation.
Police said the financial trail initially led to an account maintained with the National Bank of Kuwait, making it difficult to immediately establish a link with the alleged operators.
Investigators subsequently examined the accounts used for reward payouts and traced transactions to an account in the name of Shree Balaji Enterprises, Mumbai. Police alleged that approximately Rs 2 crore was distributed through numerous small-value transactions to more than 41,000 users associated with the suspect application within just three days.
Based on technical and financial evidence, police conducted raids in Mumbai, Lucknow, Delhi, Rajasthan and Punjab, leading to the arrest of the five accused.
The investigation also uncovered a network allegedly involved in arranging company documents, current bank accounts and other banking infrastructure in exchange for commission.
Police said 544 complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP), involving cheated amounts exceeding Rs 10 crore, have been linked to the network.
Further investigation is underway.
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