Hyderabad: A Flipkart employee, an ex-serviceman, a marketing head and accounts in the names of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) all feature in a cybercrime crackdown by the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB), which arrested 101 people for allegedly letting fraudsters use their bank accounts.
According to The Times of India, the two-week operation covered Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry. Those arrested include 18 women. Investigators have traced fraudulent transactions of about Rs 17 crore and 1,172 cybercrime links across India.
Police said 19 of the accused were agents and 81 were mule account holders. The arrests are connected to 51 cases registered at seven Cyber Crime Police Stations, and 50 of the accused are linked to more than five cases each. Mobile phones, SIM cards, bank passbooks and cheque books were seized.
Who the accused are
Investigators said the accused come from varied backgrounds.
An employee of Tata Capital allegedly worked as an agent, arranging mule accounts for commission. A Flipkart employee, a graduate, allegedly allowed his account to be used for fraudulent transactions and is linked to 50 cases across the country.
A businessman with a Master of Commerce (MCom) degree is linked to 34 cases, and an accused with a Diploma in Film Technology to 26. A Master of Business Administration (MBA) graduate who works as marketing head of Manju Group of Companies is linked to 15 cases, and an ex-serviceman to six.
Accounts in the names of NGO trusts were also allegedly misused to receive and transfer cybercrime money. These accounts are linked to 60 cases nationwide.
How the money moved
Mule accounts are bank accounts given to fraudsters to receive money cheated from victims. Investigators said agents and intermediaries allegedly arranged the accounts, and both they and the account holders were paid commissions of up to 5 per cent of the amount passing through them.
The money was then allegedly moved out through ATM withdrawals, bulk transfers and overseas-linked transactions, making it harder to trace.
Not the first such operation
The police have been targeting mule accounts for months. In February this year, TGCSB launched “Operation Crackdown”, and ETV Bharat reported that the suspected mule accounts it initially flagged were linked to 782 cybercrime cases in Telangana and 9,431 across India.
In October last year, the bureau arrested 81 people, including seven women, in another multi-state operation, according to a Press Trust of India (PTI) report. Fraud worth Rs 95 crore was traced in that case, and the accused were also paid commissions of up to 5 per cent.
The TGCSB said its investigation is continuing to uncover more interstate and international links. It has urged the public to be cautious about fake trading platforms, task-based income schemes and “digital arrest” scams, and to report cybercrime on the 1930 helpline or the national cybercrime reporting portal.
