Eight men were arrested in connection with a cyber fraud syndicate that ran mule bank accounts across Delhi, Moradabad and Bareilly. The stolen money was moved to China-based operators through cryptocurrency.
According to NDTV, the racket is involved in 600 cybercrime complaints across the country and suspicious transactions, which are estimated to be nearly Rs 15 crore, said police on Tuesday.
Which incident joined the dots?
The probe started with a complaint by a Tamil Nadu resident who reported that Rs 6,000 had been fraudulently transferred from her account in September last year. The complaint led investigators to a Yes Bank account in East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar, which is registered under the name of Wasim, a garment worker from Ghaziabad, who is 25 years old.
The police discovered that he controlled four mule accounts which span across different banks. There were around 39 complaints which were linked to them before this complaint.
Abhishek Dhania said, “Our team analysed the account statements of the mule accounts used in the commission as well as the disposal of cybercrime proceeds. The team also analysed the internet banking IP logs of account transactions in question. Based on in-depth analysis, the chain of the cybercrime syndicate was identified, and eight accused persons were arrested.”
How did the racket run?
The accused assisted the running mule accounts and shifted the crime money in cash and USDT (cryptocurrency). “A total of 14 mobile devices, 20 SIM cards and seven bank debit cards belonging to Bank of Maharashtra, Indian Bank and Indian Overseas Bank, including cash of Rs 470,000 used by the syndicate, have been recovered,” said DCP Dhania.
According to the police, the gang operated on the instructions of operators based in China. The operators took advantage of the remote control of Indian bank accounts by utilising the SMS-forwarding malware. The process involved the mule account receiving fraudulent proceeds. The China-based operators used the sent OTPs to transfer the money through different accounts and convert it into USDT on cryptocurrency platforms such as Binance and MetaMask. The Indian operatives were handed their commissions in crypto.
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According to the police, one of the accused, based in Bareilly, is suspected of sharing details of over 60 accounts, while another was linked to 81 complaints. Most of the arrested men had no prior criminal record, said officers.
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Police said that they are tracing the victims and further arrests are likely as the probe widens into the international links of the syndicate.
