Seeking course upgrade, cyber security student loses ₹1.86L in online fraud
The victim, Pratik Bose, an engineer and resident of Georgetown area, is currently pursuing his master’s degree in cyber security from a private university in Massachusetts. The matter came to light after his mother, Reena Bose, filed a police complaint at the George Town police station on his behalf.
In a rare case of cyber fraud, a Prayagraj resident and engineer pursuing a postgraduate course in Cyber Security in the United States was duped of nearly ₹1.86 lakh by a man posing as a representative of a fake cyber security training institute. The amount was paid in three instalments between September 2023 and January 2025 for an advanced cyber security course that never commenced.
The victim, Pratik Bose, an engineer and resident of Georgetown area, is currently pursuing his master’s degree in cyber security from a private university in Massachusetts. The matter came to light after his mother, Reena Bose, filed a police complaint at the George Town police station on his behalf.
According to the FIR, Pratik had previously worked for around eight years in Kolkata after completing his B.Tech from a university in Odisha. While studying in the US, he searched for advanced online courses in cyber security and came across a company named Quantum World Technologies Inc., claiming to offer such courses from India.
In September 2023, Pratik received a phone call from one Archit Srivastava, a resident of Hazratganj, Lucknow. Introducing himself as a manager at Quantum World Technologies Inc., Archit offered Pratik an advanced cyber security course at a discounted price.
Lured by the proposal, Pratik transferred ₹1.75 lakh to the accused’s bank account for enrolment in the course. However, the classes never commenced. Three months later, when Pratik enquired about the course status, Archit demanded an additional ₹10,000 as a ‘registration fee’.
Despite repeated payments and reassurances, the course did not begin even after a year.
In January 2025, Archit again demanded ₹1,000 as a ‘re-registration’ fee, claiming a new online batch would start from April 15 due to a company change.
When the promised classes failed to materialise, Pratik grew suspicious and informed his mother in Prayagraj. Acting on his instructions, she filed a complaint with the police.
Georgetown station house officer (SHO) Santosh Singh confirmed that a case has been registered against the accused, identified as Archit Srivastava alias Archit Nandan of Hazratganj, Lucknow. “We have lodged a named FIR and are conducting further investigation,” he said. The FIR has been filed under Section 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and Section 66D of the Information Technology (Amendments) Act, 2008.
