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No letup in fraud despite pandemic


Published : 10 Jul 2020 10:30 PM | Updated : 07 Sep 2020 08:53 PM

Activities of various criminal networks engaged in swindling people in many ways have increased during the coronavirus crisis, shaking many people’s sense of security.

While some factions of these organised fraudster gangs have changed strategy, the other criminals have returned to their old modus operandi in looting innocent people’s cash money, sources in law enforcement agencies said on Friday.

These fraudsters are especially becoming active online, alluring people with jobs and other lucrative offers every day.
Besides, the organised thugs are also swindling people with promises of providing coronavirus treatment including Covid-19 testing.

However, some members of different fraudster gangs were arrested by the members of law enforcement agencies. But many people have lost everything at the hand of cheats.

As many people have lost jobs due to the impact of Covid-19, the fraudster gangs are alluring them with promises of jobs and swindling cash money.

A special squad of Rapid Action Battalion arrested four fake employers from the city on Thursday night.
The elite force also rescued sixteen job seekers from a flat in the city’s Mirpur DOHS.

Talking to Bangladesh Post on Friday afternoon, RAB-4 Commanding Officer Md Mozammel Hoque confirmed the matter.
He said, on getting secret information, a team of RAB-4 jointly led by Additional SP Jamir Uddin Ahmed and Senior ASP Unu Mong raided the office of a phony employment company, Bhuiyan Air Cargo International, and arrested Md Shamsur Rahman,35, son of late Dr Mujibur Rahman, hailing from Noakhali district, Md Yusuf Hossain Shaheen, 35, son of late Abdus Satter, hailing from Cumilla district, and Md Rasel Ahmed, 33, son of Abul Kalam Mridha, hailing from Shariatpur district, from the flat.

The crime busters also seized a large number of fake appointment letters and other documents from their possession.
During primary interrogation, the arrested frauds admitted that they were cheating unemployed youths in the name of providing high salary jobs. They shift their offices frequently to dodge law enforcers.

RAB-4 boss said, “ We shall continue our drives to arrest others involved in such types of cheating.”
Responding to another question, Mozzamel Hoque, also a Deputy Inspector General of Police said, a process was on to file a case and hand over the arrestees to the local police station.

Besides, members of law enforcement agencies earlier arrested 20 fraudsters in connection with cheating people.
Opening offices at different places including Mohakhali in the city, they have already taken away lakhs of taka in the name of application and training charges.

According to RAB officers, one fraud took license from Dhaka North City Corporation and opened two business establishments—Gazi International Limited and Vision Business Centre at DOHS in Mohakhali.

Later, the gang published fake advertisements through different social media like facebook and online and distributed leaflets urging interested people to apply for the posts of unit manager, branch manager and assistant manager.

A large number of people, mostly those who had lost their jobs due to the impact of Covid-19, applied and sent taka 1000 in cash as application charge.

In the advertisement, the organised fraudster gangs promised the applicant that they would be given a salary from Tk 20,000 to 50,000 based on job structure.

On being allured, people applied and started doing jobs there for the last four months, but they had got no salaries even for a single month.

When the victims asked for salaries, the fraudsters issued them death threats and also beat them up, the RAB officer said.
Later, the Rapid Action Battalion raided two offices and arrested 20 members of the fraudster gang in this connection.

Besides, the fraudsters are also issuing forged signatures and serial numbers of the authorities in issuing certificates. Some hospitals, like Regent do not have government permission to operate.

Earlier, RAB had raided two hospitals of the Regent Group and arrested eight persons accused of cheating people.
Earlier, in June, Japan banned Biman Bangladesh Airlines from operating special flights after some Bangladeshi passengers tested positive despite having Corona-free certificates.

Similar reports were received about passengers from Bangladesh who had travelled to South Korea in June. However, the government later denied any responsibility of Bangladesh in the episode.

Apart from these, the elite force also arrested 13 members of a fraud gang involved in conning mobile banking users out of money and recovered taka 15 lakh from their possession.

The elite force seized a laptop, a Multi SIM Gateway device, a signal booster, three modems and a large number of mobile SIM cards from their possession.

These groups had been using advanced technology devices for conning many mobile banking users out of money through cloning their SIM cards during the Covid-19 crisis.

They collected account numbers from agents and PINs applying various tricks, the Rab officer said
On the other hand, the criminals are also very active to loot money from ATM booths installing malware through inserting pen drives during the Covid-19 pandemic