<ul><li>35-year-old Ram Kumar Mandal recruited and trained around 200 people to pose as bank executives who would call their targets and get them to reveal their personal bank details. </li><li>Mandal is class X dropout trained in cellphone repairing.</li><li>The fraudster has 20 bank accounts with ₹3,00,000 ($4426) in them transferred from various e-wallets. He also has money invested in silver and gold jewellery. </li></ul> A man from a nondescript village in Jharkhand, India, managed to dupe over a hundred thousand people of as many rupees by executing an elaborate <keyword id="3271695" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="vishing">vishing</keyword> (voice <keyword id="6359049" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="phishing">phishing</keyword>) racket. Vishing is a kind of fraud wherein a person posing to be from a reputable organisation calls you and asks you for your personal bank details, and uses that information for dubious purposes. This is exactly what your bank is warning you against when it sends you emails and texts announcing that bank employees will never ask for personal details. 35-year-old Ram Kumar Mandal recruited and trained around 200 people from Karmatar village, near the Jharkhand-West Bengal border, to pose as bank executives who would call their targets under various pretexts and essentially get them to reveal their personal bank details, including their credit/bank account number, CVV number, card expiry date, secure password, ATM pin, internet banking details and password, and even the one-time-password (OTP) customers get to validate transactions. Some of the sneaky pretexts these ‘executives’ gave included their desire to ‘help’ the customer reactivate their account or card, redeem their reward points and even to link their bank accounts to their Aadhar cards, India’s new unique identification system for citizens. Once the crooks got their targets to divulge this information they used it to make online transactions. The calls were made to people all over the country, including metro cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Goa. Cops got wind of the racket while investigating a case registered at Delhi’s Anand Vihar police station by a woman who alleged that someone had syphoned off ₹1.9 lakh from her bank account. The woman told the police that someone claiming to be an RBI official offered to help her link her Aadhaar card and asked her to divulge her OTP. Promptly after she revealed the number, she realised the money had been transferred to an <keyword id="6356915" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-wallet">e-wallet</keyword>. “A team led by DCP Nupur Prasad was formed to track the source from where the e-wallet was being operated. One group was tasked with finding the location from where the e-wallet was being accessed, while others were trying to trace the operator,” Ravindra Yadav, joint commissioner, eastern range told the <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/empire-built-through-stolen-passwords/articleshow/64310443.cms">Times of India</a>. The police also said that Mandal’s gang had been operating with the help of the militant Maoist groups for the past four years. Upon finding accounts to which an e-wallet was linked, cops managed to block the account and get ₹40,000 back in the woman’s account as the e-wallet company had a provision of reverting a transaction within 24 hours of a case being reported. Cops said that the rest of the amount was used to pay an electric company. The owner of the wallet account, Surendra Singh who was detained by the cops further revealed that money was transferred to the e-wallet by a man called Shabir Ali, who lives in his neighbourhood. Singh would collect cash from his customers and pay their bills through the e-wallet and Ali would later take the cash from Singh after paying a 5% commission. Apparently, Ali would then deposit this cash into his bank account and then transfer the amount to someone called Mukesh through his e-wallet account and this account was also accessed by the kingpin Mandal, who happens to be a school dropout trained in cellphone repairing. This elaborate and confusing trail is what kept Mandal from getting caught all this while, especially because none of these accounts was his own. Mandal, the mastermind behind this plot, used the money to pay his ‘recruitees’ and buy electronic products online. Mandal was so sharp that even the products he bought with the swindled money were not delivered to his home. Instead, they would be delivered to the homes of people who rented houses from his relatives in Delhi and Mumbai. According to the police, Mandal owns 20 bank accounts that had ₹3,00,000 ($4426) in them transferred from the e-wallets. He also has money invested in silver and gold jewellery.

A school dropout from a village in India executed one of the biggest bank frauds in the country

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/54868970.cms" /> Duping people off Rs 500 crores, gifting an <keyword id="6363321" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Audi">Audi</keyword> to impress his girlfriend, making Rs 150 crore a day- this may sound like a typical <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> movie centred on an underworld don. You might also wonder if this is the real Wolf of the <keyword id="42111" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Wall-Street">Wall Street</keyword>. But wait, this is as REAL as it gets- this is the brief description of a 23 year old guy from Mumbai. <keyword id="38454" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sagar">Sagar</keyword> <keyword id="1346781" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Thakkar">Thakkar</keyword> aka <keyword id="215528" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shaggy">Shaggy</keyword>, the mastermind of the multi-crore extortion racket used to run a call centre at <keyword id="6385909" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mira-Road">Mira Road</keyword>. 
 As per media reports, Sagar’s father couldn’t keep his business afloat, which is when they shifted their home to <keyword id="6383000" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Nallasopara">Nallasopara</keyword> from <keyword id="77815" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Borivli">Borivli</keyword>. To make both ends meet, Sagar started working in call centres. While he was still working with call centres in <keyword id="29128" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="ahmadabad">Ahmadabad</keyword>, he used to sell private data of common people to fraudsters. 
 Soon after he formed a team with his school mates and started a call centre. They had all the data from previous organizations they have worked for. They would call unsuspecting US citizens and threaten them to reveal their income details to <keyword id="6355946" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="FBI">FBI</keyword>. They would blackmail these US citizens and earns money. Each day they were earning Rs 150 crores. 
 The modus operandi, according to Thane Police Commissioner <keyword id="6414617" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Param-Bir-Singh">Param Bir Singh</keyword>, was simple. The caller would begin the conversation telling the listener the badge number and name of the <keyword id="6359816" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IRS">IRS</keyword> official. They would threaten the Americans saying if they didn’t pay up, then the police would raid their home in the next half hour. Investigations showed the calls were made through Voice Over Internet Protocol (<keyword id="54765" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="VoIP">VoIP</keyword>). The accused had spoofed the toll number of IRS. So when the victim received a call, <keyword id="224849" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Internal-Revenue-Services">Internal Revenue Services</keyword> would flash on their phone. Most victims paid between $500 (Rs 30,000) to $60,000 (Rs 4o lakhs). 
 Sagar’s ambition to become rich and his fantasy for luxury knew no bounds. He owns a Audi TT, Bentley, BMW, Bugatti and some more luxury cars in his stable. He would come to office in chauffeur driven cars surrounded by body guards. On one occasion, he gifted his girlfriend an <keyword id="529178" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Audi-R8">Audi R8</keyword> priced at around Rs 2 crores. 
 However the <keyword id="44723" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Federal-Bureau-of-Investigation">Federal Bureau of Investigation</keyword> (FBI) working on a tip off along with the Thane police busted the racket. It is also informed that Sagar has similar operations in Delhi and <keyword id="53426" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="NCR">NCR</keyword> as well. Sagar has his businesses in <keyword id="6354539" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dubai">Dubai</keyword> where the 23 year old accused would transfer the money too.

This Mumbai based scam king duped US citizens off Rs 500
crores and gifted his girlfriend an Audi R8

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/53176005.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
(<keyword id="6610414" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Mohit-Goel">Mohit Goel</keyword> and the founders at the <keyword id="3247248" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Freedom-251">Freedom 251</keyword> launch event. Image credit: PTI) 
 
 
On July 8, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=mohit+goel&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Mohit Goel</a>, CEO and founder of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Rinmging-Bells-website-shows-no-sign-of-Freedom-251/articleshow/53113390.cms">Ringing Bells</a>, the makers of what is being touted as the world’s cheapest smartphone personally hand-delivered the first model of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=freedom+251&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Freedom 251</a> to a surprised <keyword id="3483784" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="ankita-birla">Ankita Birla</keyword>, a 27-year-old vendor co-ordinator from <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=noida&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Noida</a>. 
 
Birla had to pay Rs 291 for the smartphone, of which Rs 40 includes a delivery charge levied by the company. Like the countless others who had placed an order for the smartphone, she too was skeptical about the phone ultimately reaching her. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/53176028.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
(Mohit Goel hand-delivering the first model of Freedom 251 to Ankita Birla. Image credit: Indiatimes) 
 
 
“I never thought the company would deliver,” she admitted, echoing the thoughts of the entire <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=indian+smartphone+market&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Indian smartphone market</a>. Her suspicions were only reinforced by all the controversies the company was mired in- from being accused of being a fraud and defaulting on vendor payments to relabeling an existing brand and demanding Rs 50,000 crore from the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=indian+government&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Indian government</a> to continue its production. 
 
Twenty-nine-year-old Goel, on the other hand is unperturbed and took the opportunity to silence his critics. “Everyone had already declared that I was running a Ponzi scheme. Despite being branded as a fraudster, I did deliver what I promised. With Freedom 251, I proved that it’s possible to make a smartphone n this kind of investment,” he said. 
 
However, Goel’s claim of delivering what he promised- a smartphone, which comes with a quad-core processor, a four-inch screen and front and back cameras- at Rs 251 is a bit premature and should be taken with a pinch of salt, given the unanswered questions plaguing the company, unfulfilled deliveries and its recent plea for government support. 
 
Initially in February, the company had said that it was in a position to deliver 20 lakh handsets by June 30. That stance quickly changed when more than 70 million people jostled to register online for the phone leading to the website crashing in just three days. 
 
That was followed by an incident where the media was given handsets which turned out to be a Chinese-made phone whose brand name- Adcom- had been covered up with white paint on the front, and a sticker hid it on the rear. 
 
The widespread furore also resulted in protests outside the company’s headquarters, multiple enquiries by the police, tax authorities and the enforcement directorate. 
 <keyword id="6428840" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Ringing-Bells">Ringing Bells</keyword> then refunded the deposits it had taken from more than 30,000 people on the internet and announced that buyers could pay for Freedom 251 with cash upon delivery. The company also added that it would fulfil 2 lakh deliveries out of the 70 million orders that they had received, stating that the first phase would start from July 8 and 5,000 units would be sent out for deliveries. 
 Then on July 7, a day before the delivery was set to begin, the company hosted a fresh launch event in Delhi, reiterating the fact that Freedom 251 is very much real. Goel also used the platform to launch a <keyword id="3475081" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="freedom-led-tv">Freedom LED TV</keyword> at Rs 9990 and six new phones- four of them being feature phones. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/53176063.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
(Ringing Bells launching their latest offering- Freedom LED TV. Image credit: PTI) 
 
 
He then made a shocking <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Freedom-251-makers-seek-Rs-50000-crore-from-the-government-after-facing-losses/articleshow/53088935.cms">last minute plea to the Indian government for Rs 50,000 crores</a>. 
 
In a letter written to the Prime Minister's Office dated June 28 asking for a meeting with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=narendra+modi&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Narendra Modi</a> , Ringing Bells said: "We have brought 'Freedom 251' which we offer on 'Cash on Delivery' terms but we have a gap between the BOM (Bill of Materials) and the Selling Price. We, therefore, humbly request government support to actualise the objective to cascade the availability and usage of <keyword id="6354775" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Smartphones">smartphones</keyword> all through the far reaches of our great nation." 
 According to Goel, he had initially faced a loss of Rs 930 on each handset for which parts were imported from <keyword id="46274" type="COUNTRY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Taiwan">Taiwan</keyword>. 
 
"I recovered Rs. 700-800 from app developers and from the revenue generated through advertisements on the Freedom 251 website. After selling the device for Rs. 251 (cash on delivery), the total loss per handset is expected to be in the range of Rs. 180-270," Goel claimed. 
He further added that if the government is willing to dole out that amount, he can ensure that 750 million of India's population would become part of digital India by owning a smartphone at Rs. 251. 
 
If that wasn’t all, Goel also announced that 90% of the proceeds of the sale would go to charity right after he admitted that Ringing Bells is a loss-making venture due to Freedom 251 and that the company would take slightly more time to deliver on its bookings apart from seeking government support to do the same. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/53176288.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
(Mohit Goel with a Freedom 251 handset. Image credit: PTI) 
 
 
At this point, we have umpteen questions- the chief being- if we were to assume that Ringing Bells is indeed cash-starved and in dire need of government support, how does Goel explain getting the money required to launch six new phones and a LED TV? It should also be noted that the company claimed to already have 1lakh units of the cheap Freedom LED TV in stock. 
 
To this, Goel replies that his assembly partners and his distributors have invested in the company making the production of the LED TV and other devices possible. “We are looking to make 15% profit on the LED TVS,” he added. 
 
While the company’s befuddling maths especially, the one justifying the Rs 251 tag never made sense, as most industry experts maintained that the cheapest variant of a phone with these kind of specs should cost Rs 2,500 at least, Goel’s recent claim of Ringing Bells giving away 90% of its proceeds to charity is also devoid of all logic. 
 
How can a company reeling in losses and desperately seeking Rs 50,000 crores from the Indian government afford to make any claims of charity? 
 
That’s not even the scariest part. The most outrageous part of the entire Freedom 251 episode is that none of the founders of Ringing Bells (including Goel) have any technology background. 
 
<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/53176087.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> 
(Mohit Goel sits in the Ringing Bells office with the company's latest phone offerings. Image credit: BBC) 
 
 
This begs the most important question- What exactly is the Ringing Bells end-game? 
 
A common theory floating around is that the company is okay with making losses on Freedom 251 as long as it is making a splash in the market (which by the looks of it, it successfully is). A few months later, it will start introducing other high-end devices- including LED TVs and smartphones and look to selling them well due to their already established name in the market. 
 
(At the time of publication of this article Ringing Bells had already shipped 4,240 units, The remaining 760 units are in the process of being shipped to Uttar Pradesh, where Goel himself intends to visit some cities)

You Searched For "Delhi fraudster" and got 3 results

A school dropout from a village in India executed one of the biggest bank frauds in the country

Kavita Majumdar

This Mumbai based scam king duped US citizens off Rs 500 crores and gifted his girlfriend an Audi R8

Suchayan Mandal

The truth about Ringing Bells, the makers of the world’s cheapest smartphone at Rs 251

Poulomi Das