Mumbai, March 28 (IANS) The Mumbai Police on Saturday arrested a man accused of cyber cheating a judge of the Bombay High Court. Acting on a complaint filed by the victim, a 25-year-old from Jamtara, Jharkhand, was taken into custody for allegedly creating fake customer care numbers and siphoning off money through a phishing app.

According to the police, the arrest is linked to a fraud amounting to approximately Rs 6.02 lakh, carried out through a carefully orchestrated credit card reward points scam. The accused has been identified as Mazhar Alam Israil Miyan, a resident of Jamtara. He was arrested by the Cuffe Parade Police with assistance from the Jamtara Cyber Cell and Karmatand Police.

Investigators revealed that Miyan is allegedly involved in at least 36 cases registered across 10 states, indicating a wider cybercrime network.

The incident dates back to February 28, when the judge tried to contact his bank’s customer care service to redeem credit card reward points. Unable to connect through official channels, he searched online and unknowingly dialled a fake helpline number planted by fraudsters.

Police said that in such scams, cybercriminals often send APK files to victims. In this case, the judge received a WhatsApp link prompting him to download an 18 MB application. When it failed to open on his iPhone, the fraudsters, posing as customer care executives, advised him to use an Android device.

Following their instructions, he inserted his SIM card into his domestic help’s Android phone and downloaded the application. As soon as he entered his credit card details, nearly Rs 6 lakh was fraudulently transferred.

Upon realising the fraud, the judge promptly approached the Mumbai Police. After nearly 10 days of investigation, the accused was successfully apprehended.

Cyber fraud involves deceptive digital activities — such as phishing, ransomware, or identity theft — designed to steal money or sensitive information.

Cyber fraud is on the rise. From spear-phishing and ransomware to CEO email fraud and business email compromise, the most dangerous cyber fraud attacks all begin with an email. Email scams are successful time and again because they target the weakest link: People. Despite all efforts and technology to stop scam emails, it only takes one user's lack of vigilance to enable a cyber fraud attack.

--IANS

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