The Bengaluru police cyber crime unit has busted an interstate cyber fraud network which had opened several benami accounts (mule accounts) to carry out cyber frauds. The police have arrested six accused of which, five are from Kerala and one hails from Karnataka.
The group used to trap innocent people, especially petty workers in the service sectors, and obtain their KYC documents by promising financial rewards.
The accused had alleged that the victims would earn Rs 1,000 to 5,000 per day based on their investment.
Addressing a press conference, Bengaluru Police Commissioner B Dayananda said, “The Central Crime Branch (CCB) has been successful in detecting the “very interesting” cyber crime fraud case in which the criminals have cheated certain individuals by luring them at high rates of interest for the money they deposited.”
“The cheated amount of Rs 854 crore has been transacted by the accused to 84 different bank accounts. Out of the total cheated amount, 5 crore has been frozen,” he said.
According to Bengaluru police commissioner B Dayananda, the group used to create mule accounts in different banks in the name of the victims and provide them to cyber fraudsters.
As a result, the money collected by cheating innocent people would get transferred through these bank accounts and converted into cash and delivered to the fraudsters. “Of the six accused, one also visited Dubai to get trained and learn the technique of financial crime,” said Dayananda.
Reasons for rising cyber crime at massive level
According to the police, who busted this massive scam, the fraudsters attracted victims via WhatsApp and Telegram. Major tech cities in India, including Gurugram and Bangalore, have emerged as prominent hubs for cybercrime activities.
One of the reason being poor cyber security awareness still being prevalent among the masses and inadequate digital literacy causing vulnerability.
(Image courtesy: www.indianexpress.com)
