Cops crack app code to bust gold fraud

KOLKATA: This is one fraud that does not have a match in Kolkata Police's nearly 160-year history. Starting blind -a caller ID that led nowhere and a SIM card that turned out to be a dead end -detectives took only 18 days to wrap up a bizarre app fraud case, using technical expertise and good old field work in equal measure.
According to south division police, a gang of an improbable trio -a jeweller from Posta, his aide who is a master in managing apps, and a sex worker from Sonagachhi -managed to dupe a Sarat Bose Road based jeweller of 2.5kg gold.
The chain of events began on November 6 when Bhowanipore jeweller Vishal Soni, proprietor of Ganeshji Maharaj, received a call from a "good friend," fellow jeweller Hansraj Bamalwa, director of Nemichand Bamalwa on Shakespeare Sarani. The caller ID on Vishal's phone showed Hansraj's number so he had no reason to suspect when he was asked to hand over Rs2.5 kg gold to an aide. The caller said he needed it urgently. In good faith, Vishal went in front of a south Kolkata club, as instructed, and handed the gold to a man who matched the description given to him. But despite waiting for half-an-hour, no one came to pay him for the gold.
Puzzled more than worried, the jeweller called Hansraj but found his phone switched off. He then called on the landline and came to know that Hansraj's mobile was stolen a few days ago and he hadn't lodged a complaint. Hansraj denied calling Vishal. The bewildered victim ran to the cops.
When Bhowanipore police additional OC Sumit Dasgupta took up the probe, the first thing he wanted to know was how the jeweller got this mysterious call.He soon found his answer: a spoof app.
So what is this app? There are plenty of phone apps for 'caller ID spoofing' all over the Internet, promising to "make your phone calls 100 per cent untraceable, totally fun, and totally legal". Neither is true -as the accused are now finding out behind bars.
Here's how it works. You can fool whoever you're calling into thinking they're getting a call from someone else. The caller ID on their phone displays another number or for that matter any number you type in. You can even mask your voice to sound like a man or a woman.
"Once we identified the app, we started tracking the SIM used to make the call," said an officer. The team hit a roadblock again. The SIM turned out to be registered to a CISF officer whose father is with Kolkata Police. The CISF officer said he had not visited Kolkata in six months. Police changed tack and started identifying the phones where the SIM were used. They zeroed in on five phones.Tracking the IMEI numbers led them to a gas agency and jeweller Manish Soni of Posta, say police sources.
Manish was arrested, and his interrogation prompted a raid at a house in Sonagachhi from where most of the stolen gold was recovered. The second suspect -Baijanti -was arrested here. Her questioning led cops to the third accused, Sachin Agarwal, the man who received the gold consignment from Vishal, said a police officer.
"While the crime was being committed the mastermind, Manish Soni, blocked Hansraj's cell phone and also made spoof calls applying different software. Police scrutinized the call details and IMEIs used and detected some numbers from which Manish and his paramour Baijanti could be identified on November 17. Another accomplice Sachin Agarwal was arrested and about 1.1kg gold ornaments were recovered from Posta and Lake town areas," said DCsouth Murlidhar Sharma.
The case reveals two alarming crime trends: the increasing use of technology and that mobile phone security rules are still being compromised. Police say solving this crime became doubly difficult due to the use of fake SIM cards. It indicated that some cellular operators are negligent in maintaining checks. In such cases, it is found that the verification wing of the cellular firm had not cross checked the address provided by distributors and retail sellers, nor did it keep proper records of lower-level retailers, say police.
An officer said a major manhunt has been launched to nab and question a number of local conduits who sent clients to shops selling SIMs without proper checks.