The City Cybercrime Unit arrested two key operatives of a nationwide racket operating from Ghaziabad, who cheated a city-based complainant out of Rs 47.35 lakh through a sophisticated policy refund scam.

Sumit Kumar (32) and Ashu Agarwal (27), both residents of Modinagar, were nabbed following a detailed investigation by the cybercrime unit. A Mirror report published on March 20 this year exposed how cyber scammers lured victims with the pretext of refunding their insurance money that had been left unclaimed with the government.

According to officials, the fraud was executed between April 28, 2022, and March 10, 2026, through a series of calls made from multiple mobile numbers. They initially contacted the victim, claiming his mobile number had appeared in a government fraud victim database and that he was eligible to recover Rs 10 lakh allegedly linked to an LIC policy lying with a government department.

DCP Lavina Sinha said to gain trust, the fraudsters impersonated themselves using names such as Jitendra Goswami (National Payment Corporation of India officer), Ladura Munda (advocate), Ashok Singhal (IT officer, Delhi), Sonal Agarwal (fund transfer officer), and Jagdish Chandra Vyas (Senior Manager, Finance and Fund Transfer).

They systematically extracted money from the victim under the pretext of taxes, stamp duties, processing charges and legal fees.

As part of the modus operandi, the accused forced the victim to open new bank accounts and obtain a fresh SIM card, which was couriered to Delhi and used to route fraudulent transactions. They also sent forged identity cards bearing logos of NPCI, IRDA, and the Department of Consumer Affairs, along with fake Aadhaar credentials, to reinforce their legitimacy.