In a significant breakthrough, Delhi Police have arrested a cyber fraudster who posed as a casting agent for a music company, luring aspiring actors and models with fake promises of roles in music videos. The accused, Rahul Dev (33), a resident of Faridabad, was apprehended from Chandigarh on May 6.
The case unraveled after a woman from Shahdara filed a complaint stating that she had been contacted via social media by someone claiming to be from a music company’s casting team. Convinced that she had been shortlisted for a music video, she was asked to pay ₹20,462 for flight tickets to attend an audition in Mumbai. Fake flight tickets were shared, but once the money was transferred on March 25, all communication was cut off, and she was blocked. An FIR was registered on April 11.
The police investigation led to a bank account linked to a woman named Ekta Sharma, who revealed it had been opened under the direction of Rahul Dev. By tracing his digital footprint, the police were able to track and arrest him.
Further investigations uncovered that Dev, along with an accomplice named Ashish, had duped at least 17 aspiring artists using the same scam. Rahul posed as a reputed director, while Ashish used voice modulation to impersonate a female casting agent. The duo operated multiple fake social media accounts to gain victims’ trust and extract money under the pretense of booking flights for auditions.
This case is a stark reminder of the rising threats in the digital landscape and the importance of verifying credentials, especially when approached through social media.
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