New Delhi: Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has busted a visa fraud racket operating from south Delhi’s Zamrudpur, arresting three men for allegedly duping foreign job seekers. The accused—Deepak Pandey (33), Yash Singh (23), and Wasim Akram (25) — posed as representatives of a global outsourcing company handling visa, passport, and consular services. They allegedly extorted large sums of money by issuing fake appointment letters and visas. The case came to light after a consultant from VFS Global filed a complaint, reporting that the scammers had misused the company’s identity and branding. According to police, the trio created a fake website, used a US-based phone number, and replicated VFS Global’s logo to appear credible. Victims were contacted via fraudulent email IDs and WhatsApp. DCP (Crime) Vikram Singh formed a team led by inspector Sunil Kalkhande to investigate the matter. Six victims were identified, and the operation was traced to gang’s makeshift office in Zamrudpur. The accused were arrested on Sept 9, and police recovered laptops, mobile phones, and forged documents. Records revealed numerous fake visa appointment bookings. During interrogation, Pandey admitted to forgery, impersonation and handling financial transactions. Singh was responsible for drafting fake visa documents and managing the website, while Akram handled technical operations, including managing the scam’s social media presence. Investigations revealed that the group had purchased a domain in 2021 and falsely linked it to locations like Nehru Place and Janakpuri to boost credibility. They created multiple fake profiles and social media pages using the VFS Global logo to advertise services such as visa processing, medical appointments and document verification. Inorder to maintain a façade of legitimacy, the accused reportedly first sent a “document checklist” via WhatsApp. They then demanded fees for medical tests and booked genuine appointments at diagnostic labs to gain trust. After collecting visa preferences, they shared forged documents — including job offers, visa applications and employment confirmation letters — for additional payments. In the final phase of the scam, fake ICA letters, Form 16s and Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) application forms were issued to extract further sums from victims. Believing they were dealing with an authorised visa service provider, the victims ended up paying substantial amounts of money.New Delhi: Delhi Police’s Crime Branch has busted a visa fraud racket operating from south Delhi’s Zamrudpur, arresting three men for allegedly duping those seeking jobs abroad. The accused—Deepak Pandey (33), Yash Singh (23), and Wasim Akram (25)—posed as representatives of a global outsourcing company handling visa, passport, and consular services. They allegedly extorted large sums of money by issuing fake appointment letters and visas. The case came to light after a consultant from VFS Global filed a complaint, reporting that the scammers had misused the company’s identity and branding. According to police, the trio created a fake website, used a US-based phone number, and replicated VFS Global’s logo to appear credible. Victims were contacted via fraudulent email IDs and WhatsApp. DCP (Crime) Vikram Singh formed a team led by inspector Sunil Kalkhande to investigate the matter. Six victims were identified, and the operation was traced to the gang’s makeshift office in Zamrudpur. The accused were arrested on Sept 9, and police recovered laptops, mobile phones, and forged documents. Records revealed numerous fake visa appointment bookings. During interrogation, Pandey admitted to forgery, impersonation and handling financial transactions. Singh was responsible for drafting fake visa documents and managing the website, while Akram handled technical operations, including managing the scam’s social media presence. Probe revealed that the group had purchased a domain in 2021 and falsely linked it to locations like Nehru Place and Janakpuri to boost credibility. They created multiple fake profiles and social media pages using the VFS Global logo to advertise services such as visa processing, medical appointments and document verification. Inorder to maintain a façade of legitimacy, the accused reportedly first sent a “document checklist” via WhatsApp. They then demanded fees for medical tests and booked genuine appointments at diagnostic labs to gain trust. After collecting visa preferences, they shared forged documents—including job offers, visa applications and employment confirmation letters—for additional payments. In the final phase of the scam, fake ICA letters, Form 16s and Police Clearance Certificate (PCC) application forms were issued to extract further sums from victims. Trusting them to be an authorised visa service provider, the victims ended up paying substantial amounts of money.
