• Source:JND

The Ahmedabad Cyber Crime Branch and National Testing Agency have jointly busted a cyber fraud, targeting NEET-UG 2026 aspirants, siphoning off their exam fee refunds. The investigating team has arrested a 19-year-old youth from Bihar in connection to the case. The police have registered a case against the accused under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the IT Act for fraud, criminal breach of trust, and cyber fraud.

The accused has been identified as Navinkumar Shankar Prasad Yadav, a BSc student hailing from Gaya district of Bihar. The police traced the accused in Bihar based on digital leads, technical investigation, and bank account records provided by the NTA's chief information security officer.

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How Did The Accused Scam Students?

The investigating officers revealed that the accused created a fake identity using a student's details. Subsequently, he logged into the NEET-UG 2026 online portal using that student's credentials without their consent or knowledge. Once he managed to enter the portal, he attempted to alter the bank account details linked to the fee refund so that the money would be credited directly to his own bank accounts.

Furthermore, interrogation revealed a shocking detail wherein the accused had targeted the accounts of approximately 350 NEET candidates. About 150 of these accounts had weak passwords (such as simple numbers or names), which the accused exploited to easily breach them. After logging in, he identified students eligible for fee refunds and replaced their bank account details with his account number.

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However, he was unable to hack accounts that had stronger passwords. This highlights just how dangerous it can be to use weak passwords on the internet. The security system of the NEET portal played a crucial role in detecting this fraud. As soon as suspicious activity was observed on the portal, an NTA security official immediately shared the relevant information and digital footprint data with the Ahmedabad Police. The incident sheds light to the crumbling management of the NTA.


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