Cybercrime / Odisha Cyber Police Bust Facebook Marketplace Car Fraud, Buyer Duped of ₹3.8 Lakh

Bhubaneswar, Aug 11: Odisha Crime Branch’s Cyber Police Station has achieved a breakthrough in a Facebook Marketplace fraud case involving the sale of a used car. The accused, Subhendra Raut alias Rinku, was arrested for duping a potential buyer of ₹3.8 lakh.

According to police, the accused posed as a recovery agent for finance-defaulted vehicles and lured the complainant into purchasing a Hyundai i20. He collected payments through digital transfers and bank transactions but never handed over the car.

Investigations later revealed the vehicle was still lying in a stockyard and had not been sold. Cyber police analyzed digital and financial evidence to identify and arrest Raut. Officials confirmed that efforts are underway to trace other individuals linked to the fraud.

Also read: Sambalpur Court Convicts Mule Account Holder in Cyber Fraud Case

In a separate operation, Rourkela police busted an interstate cyber gang operating from Jharkhand. Acting on leads, Uditnagar police arrested four cyber fraudsters who had been siphoning off lakhs of rupees from bank accounts using APK apps.

Earlier, one member of the gang had already been arrested, and further investigation led to the capture of the remaining four.

Police seized a four-wheeler, over ₹24,000 in cash, ATM cards, and mobile phones from the gang. Authorities revealed that the group was involved in frauds exceeding ₹3 crore, with ₹47 lakh frozen across multiple bank accounts.

Rourkela SP confirmed that the crackdown was part of ongoing efforts to dismantle organized cybercrime networks in the state.

Earlier, the Sambalpur JMFC Court delivered a landmark verdict against cyber fraud, convicting Gouri Shankar Dash (32) for operating a mule account.

Found guilty under BNS Sections 317(2) and 112(2), he received two years rigorous imprisonment and fines of ₹10,000 each, with concurrent sentences and additional jail terms for default.