Seven persons have been arrested by the Navghar police for targetting US citizens and cheating them on the pretext of paying tax on loans. Bhayandar SP Atul Kulkarni said based on a tip-off, they raided a flat at Hariya Dreampark in Harkesh. There the police found the accused running an office from where they targetted victims.

Kulkarni said the accused had got in touch with an agent-based outside Mumbai, who sold loan account data of US citizens. From the data, they would pick mobile numbers and make internet-based calls. They would then threaten the victims saying they would have to shell out loan tax or else face legal consequences. They would then share details of an account with them and once the amount was transferred, they would convert it into bitcoin and later into Indian currency. The seven were arrested under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and under the IT Act.