4 days ago
Uttarakhand STF busts SchoolPad hacking scam, three youths arrested for defrauding parents
DEHRADUN: In a significant breakthrough, the Uttarakhand Special Task Force (STF)'s Cyber Crime team has arrested three youths from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, for allegedly hacking the 'SchoolPad' digital platform of a school and defrauding parents and students.
The arrested individuals have been identified as 19-year-old Mohammad Rizwan of Mullapur village, Sudama Diwakar of Akashpuram, and Mohammad Faraz of Bankhana. Authorities recovered four mobile phones used in the crime, two bank passbooks, and three SIM cards from their possession.
According to STF officials, the cybercriminals carried out the fraud by creating a sophisticated fake application and sending deceptive messages. The complaint was lodged by the DIS City Campus in July 2023 after it was discovered that the official 'SchoolPad' app had been compromised.
Students and parents began receiving fraudulent messages demanding a fee of Rs 4,990 for an 'AI-enabled Robotics Lab.' The messages appeared so authentic that many parents transferred money to the provided bank accounts.
