New Delhi, Aug 4 (IANS) The Cyber Police Station of Delhi’s Central District has busted a fake placement racket operating under the name “Next Step Advisors” and apprehended seven accused, including the alleged mastermind, for cheating unemployed jobseekers by promising them jobs in exchange for registration and processing fees.
Police said the placement agency was operating without any registration and had duped several job aspirants by collecting money on the pretext of securing employment. During the investigation, five complaints registered on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) were found linked to the mobile numbers and bank accounts used by the accused.
Mobile phones, registration forms, payment records, and details of bank accounts allegedly used in the fraud have been seized. Further investigation is underway to identify additional victims and determine the full extent of the scam.
According to police, the case came to light after a resident of Bapa Nagar in Delhi’s Karol Bagh lodged a complaint at Cyber Police Station, Central District. The complainant alleged that on July 24, he received a WhatsApp message from a person claiming to be an HR representative of a job portal in response to an online job application submitted by him.
He was called for an interview on July 25 at an office located on the first floor of Building C-3, Jeevan Park, Som Bazar, Uttam Nagar. During the interview process, he was allegedly asked to pay Rs 4,800 as registration and account-opening charges. The payment was made online, and he was given a form bearing the name “Next Step Advisors”.
The complainant was assured that the amount would be refunded after he joined the job. However, neither was any employment provided nor was the money returned. Subsequently, the mobile numbers provided by the agency stopped responding.
Following a preliminary inquiry, a case was registered under FIR No. 37/2026 on August 1 under Sections 318(4) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), and an investigation was initiated.
Considering the seriousness of the allegations, a special team comprising Sub Inspector Ankur Sejwal, Head Constables Diksha and Deepak was formed under the supervision of the SHO of Cyber Police Station, Central District, and ACP Operations.
During the investigation, police carried out a detailed technical analysis of the mobile numbers, payment trails through Paytm and UPI transactions, and beneficiary bank accounts. Local intelligence was also developed to trace those involved.
Based on technical surveillance and field verification, the team conducted a raid at the office premises in Jeevan Park, Som Bazar, Dabri, Uttam Nagar. During the raid, officials discovered that a fake placement agency was being run under the name “Next Step Advisors.”
Sustained investigation led to the identification and apprehension of all seven persons allegedly involved in operating the racket. Police found that the agency was not registered with any competent authority.
During interrogation, the accused allegedly disclosed the modus operandi of the operation. Investigators seized several incriminating materials, including registration forms, mobile phones used in the commission of the offence, and records of payments received from victims.
Further scrutiny of the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal revealed that five separate complaints lodged by different victims were linked to the same mobile numbers and bank accounts used by the accused, strengthening the case against them.
According to investigators, the accused used to post attractive job vacancies on various online job portals and then contact unemployed individuals through WhatsApp messages and phone calls while posing as HR executives.
Victims were invited for interviews at the Uttam Nagar office. After conducting what police described as a “sham interview”, the accused would inform candidates that they had been selected for the job. They would then collect amounts ranging from Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 as registration, processing, or account-opening fees, promising that the money would be refunded after joining.
However, no jobs were provided, and the collected amounts were never returned. Calls and messages from victims were allegedly ignored after the payments were received.
Police said the racket primarily targeted unemployed youths searching for jobs online and cheated a large number of aspirants through false promises of employment.
The arrested accused have been identified as Preeti Malhotra (34), a resident of Uttam Nagar and the alleged mastermind behind the operation; Divya (33), Lalita alias Pinkey (32), Naina (33), and Priyanka (28), who allegedly worked as HR executives; Kapil Kumar Sharma (30), a resident of Alwar in Rajasthan; and Lalit Kumar (28), a resident of Najafgarh, who allegedly worked as field staff.
Delhi Police have advised citizens not to make payments towards registration, processing, or account-opening charges without verifying the credentials of placement agencies. In cases of cyber fraud, citizens are urged to report incidents immediately through the National Cyber Crime Helpline 1930 or the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.
–IANS
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