Police in West Bengal have arrested five residents of Bihar from Dankuni in Hooghly district for allegedly running a fake lottery cyberfraud operation using AI-generated advertisements and fabricated information, according to a report by Sangbad Pratidin – Bengal.
The arrests were made after an operation in the Surya Sen Nagar area of Dankuni by the cybercrime police of the Chandannagar Police Commissionerate. Police reportedly recovered 20 mobile phones, one laptop, 22 SIM cards, a bank passbook and 23 debit cards from the accused.
The operation allegedly used social media advertisements to attract people with claims of lottery winnings. The advertisements were created using AI-generated information, including the names of fictional lottery winners who did not actually exist, the report said. People who responded to the advertisements were then allegedly contacted and asked to pay money on various pretexts.
According to the police account cited in the report, the accused collected personal details from prospective victims, including their names, professions and bank account information. The details were allegedly compiled into a database and used during the fraud process.
Victims were reportedly told that they had won lottery money and were asked to pay charges described at different times as goods and services tax, income tax or other fees. The police have so far traced alleged cyberfraud amounting to Rs 4.36 lakh. The report also said that the accused face allegations involving fraud worth several lakhs of rupees.
The case was registered after a complaint was filed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. During the investigation, police traced the alleged operation to Dankuni, where the accused were reportedly conducting the activity while staying away from their home state. Police said the proceeds of the alleged cyberfraud were transferred into bank accounts in Bihar.
The recovery of multiple mobile phones, SIM cards and debit cards indicates that the investigation is examining the financial and communication channels allegedly used in the operation. The report did not specify whether more arrests, additional victims or further financial transactions had been identified at the time of publication.
The arrests highlight the use of social media advertising in lottery-related fraud, where a fabricated digital identity and the promise of an unexpectedly large payout are used to initiate contact. In this case, the police investigation is focused on the alleged creation and circulation of AI-generated false information, the collection of victims’ data and the movement of the suspected proceeds.
The Chandannagar Police Commissionerate’s cybercrime unit is continuing its investigation into the case, including the recovered devices, bank accounts and digital material, according to the report.
