Mohali Police arrest 21 people for duping American nationals

Mohali (Punjab) [India], August 7 : In an information-based operation, Mohali Police arrested 21 people, 17 men and four women, for allegedly duping American nationals, officials said.
Officials said that the arrests were made on Tuesday during simultaneous searches carried out at their flats. During the searches, police seized 20 laptops and Rs 1,40,000 in cash from their possession.
Mohali Superintendent of Police (SP) Jyoti Yadav told ANI, "Mohali police have arrested 21 people in an information-based operation for running an illegal cyber centre. They used to fraud with American nationals and thug them".
"Out of 21, four are African nationals and others hail from different states. Some belong to West Bengal, Punjab, Rajasthan and Bihar. 17 are men and f are women," SP Yadav added.
Their modus operandi was to call the American nationals by posing as police and customs officials, they said.
"They used to tell them that their parcel had been seized at the Mexican border. There are drugs in the parcel. If you have not sent it and you are not involved, we are sending you a URL and share your information to clear your name," she said.
"...But that URL is....through which they hack all their bank information and their phones and thereafter empty their bank accounts, " SP added.
All the 21 arrested persons have been remanded to police custody for three days, SP Yadav added.
She further said that the accused both men and women are mostly young, well-educated and IT graduates.
"During the search, we found that the arrested people were living in four flats in different areas and arrested them," she added.