Vijayawada: The Pattabhipuram police, in coordination with the IT Core wing of Guntur district police, arrested a cyber fraudster who allegedly duped victims by posing as a recruiter for a call boy business on social media. The accused, Choda Chaitanya Krishna Pawan (27), a resident of Inkollu village in Bapatla district, was found in possession of two mobile phones and seven SIM cards.Guntur superintendent of police Vakul Jindal detailed the accused’s modus operandi. Pawan created fake Facebook profiles under female names—Sailaja.Marni, Sunitha.sunitha, and Neelima—and sent friend requests to potential victims.“Thereafter, he sends a message saying that he would pay to if they (victims) became his call boy. To build credibility, he shared a phone number (8712818876) supposedly belonging to an existing call boy, which was actually his own, saying, ‘If you don’t believe me, talk to him’. After that, the accused changes his voice and talks to them, convincing them that there is no fraud in working as a call boy and that they will be paid,” the SP explained. Under the pretext of issuing ID cards, Pawan persuaded victims to transfer Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 as a registration fee. He later impersonated law enforcement and legal officials—posing as a constable, SI, CI, and even a high court advocate—to threaten victims with fabricated cases of online harassment, coercing them into transferring more money.The accused was booked under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 66(C) and 66(D) of the IT Act, following a complaint from a 68-year-old man in SVN Colony, Guntur, who was defrauded of nearly Rs 1 crore.SP Jindal commended Pattabhipuram CI G Venkateswarlu, SI Raj Kumar, PSI Pradeep, and head constable Prasada Rao for their role in the arrest. He also appreciated IT Core CI Nissar Basha and head constable Raja Kishore for their technical support and presented them with certificates of recognition.
