Photo: Nigerian man arrested in India for duping a man with fake job offer in America

The centre for cyber crime investigation (CCCI), Noida, India has arrested a Nigerian, Aujo Olaniyi for allegedly duping a Greater Noida resident of Rs 22 lakh on the pretext of offering a job in the United States.

According to Times of India, the accused, who stays in Bengaluru had impersonated as an official of a US-based firm claiming to offer a job in the reputed company trapping his target in a web of money trail that took officers of the CCCI to at least eight bank accounts opened in Bengaluru and Mizoram.

The accused was arrested after the cyber cell took the help of Google to trace his mobile number which he had been using at the time of orchestrating the fraud.

The accused Olaniyi (35), who had been putting up in Bengaluru till now - was arrested from Bengaluru on Monday and brought to Noida on transit remand on Wednesday, January 23.

Aujo claims to work as a garment exporter who ships the clothes to Nigeria via cargo.

SP (crime) Ashok Singh told TOI that Raj Kumar, a resident of Greater Noida, had lodged a complaint in the Kasna police station about the fraud orchestrated between February and May 2018 for which an FIR was lodged on July 9, 2018.

An FIR has been lodged in the matter under IPC sections 406, 420, 467, 468, 471 and sections 66, 66 c and 66d of the IT Act.

However, the investigation was then transferred to the cyber cell after about four months and the latter started an investigation in November.

According to Raj Kumar’s complaint, Aujo had come in touch with Raj Kumar after accessing his email ID.

He then made internet calls and voice calls to Raj Kumar offering him a job at a reputed US-based brewing company.

“Aujo impersonated as an official of the company and offered him a job as a technical expert in the company. Through repeated calls, he gained the trust of the victim and then sought money in exchange of visa fee and for other documentation to complete the recruitment process,” CCCI inspector Satish Chand told TOI.

Raj Kumar apparently had to borrow money from his friends and also mortgage his property, he added, stating that he paid Rs 22 lakh to Aujo in four months.

However, after taking all the money from Raj Kumar, Aujo then started avoiding Raj and stopped all the contact. Raj lodged a complaint in July after he realised that he was duped.

According to CCCI officers, the money was transferred in at least 16 different accounts - eight in Bengaluru and eight in Mizoram.

“These accounts were opened in the names of different individuals - mostly Indians. Their names are being verified and they have apparently taken some percentage of money from Aujo. We are trying to verify the accounts,” Chand said.

CCCI officers said that when the investigation was shifted to the cell, they tried to track the gmail account from which transaction was made.

A formal request was sent to Google in November seeking the registered phone number with the gmail account being used by Aujo which the software giant provided in January.

“We then traced the mobile number and found that he was based in Bengaluru,” Chand said.

Aujo was arrested on Monday after which Noida police officers got a transit remand from a local court and brought him to Noida on Wednesday.

His passport has expired and it has been recovered by the Noida police from his possession including Rs 1000, two laptops and two mobile phones.