WhatsApp DP ‘cloned’ are being used by cybercriminals in Kolkata to dupe businessmen, with one case involving a ₹50 lakh fraud. Police arrested six suspects and recovered over ₹24 lakh.

Police added that a new trend among some of the city’s cybercriminals with ties outside the state is using phoney WhatsApp DP to defraud businessmen. Six persons, including three from the Mumbai suburb of Nallasopara, have been taken into custody on suspicion of copying a city merchant’s WhatsApp DP picture (DP) and using it to defraud the trader’s buddy out of ₹50 lakh, according to police.

The retailer sells plywood under a well-known brand.

A new trend among some of the city’s cybercriminals with ties outside the state is using phoney WhatsApp DP to defraud businessmen, according to police.

According to the police, they have taken more than ₹24 lakh from the defendant.

After a complaint was filed with the Park Street police station on March 4, an investigation was started.

The last arrest was made on Pollock Street on 15 March 2025, according to the police, and the others had been made throughout the past few days.

On March 1, the six-person group allegedly called a buddy of the merchant and requested him to set up ₹50 lakh after cloning his WhatsApp DP, according to the police.

The caller said that he had an emergency and required the money in cash.

“The gang asked the trader’s friend, who lived on Park Street, to arrange the money over the phone. The acquaintance obtained the sum from various sources and gave it to two of the six defendants who pretended to be the plywood merchant’s agents, according to a senior Park Street police station officer.

The officer stated that the transaction happened on Park Street.

The fraud was discovered within the following three days, and the merchant discovered that his DP had been used to defraud his friend.

Following the pertinent parts of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, including 338 (forgery), 336 (cheating someone by modifying electronic data or papers), and 340 (passing forged electronic documents as real), a case was prepared at Park Street police station after the businessman filed a complaint.

Investigators started looking into local CCTV videos.

They focused on a few of the defendants. All of the city’s police stations, as well as those throughout Bengal and even outside the state, received scanned copies of their (WhatsApp DP) photos.

Three men, Waqab Mohammad, 28, Riya Razi Sayed, 36, and Sachin Manohar Prasad, 32, were taken into custody on March 13 by a Kolkata Police team that had travelled to Mumbai with the assistance of their counterparts in Nallasopara, the officer said.

Along with the clothing the three were wearing on the day the money was turned up, a backpack that was used to hold the cash was found. They were also found to have five pre-activated SIM cards,” he stated.

The authorities discovered during questioning that the three had committed the crime by using their contacts in Calcutta.

Pawan Shaw, 36, was taken into custody in Phool Bagan on March 14. Mahendra Pal Singh, 39, and Chetan Singh Dahiya, 40, were taken into custody by the police on Pollock Street in the heart of Calcutta after they confessed.

“A currency counting machine and more than ₹24 lakh were found on them,” the officer stated. “The entire plot has not yet been revealed.”

A central Calcutta businessman lost over ₹2 crore in a similar scam last week. He was allegedly duped by scammers into utilizing internet payments to purchase expensive cameras from them. Fake WhatsApp DP for well-known camera vendors in the nation were used by the scammers. Following an investigation by the cyber wing, Kolkata Police assisted the dealer in recovering around ₹1.6 crore.