The Special Task Force (STF) of Odisha Police has cracked a massive racket involved in opening ‘mule bank accounts’ that help cyber and financial fraudsters to park and operate their ill-gotten money.
The racket was active in tricking gullible villagers into opening bank accounts in tri-junction region of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The STF conducted raids based on intelligence inputs and arrested Seikh Hapizul and Seikh Jangir of Odisha’s Balasore district and Seikh Jamiruddin of West Bengal’s West Medinapur district. During the raid, various incriminating materials such as mobile phones, pre-activated SIM Cards, bank passbooks and Aadhaar Cards were seized from their possession.
“This racket operates mainly in the tri-junction area of Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal especially in the districts of Balasore, Mayurbhanj, East Midnapore, West Midnapore, East Sighbhoom, West Singhbhoom and Saraikela. This racket is headed by Sk Jamiruddin of West Midnapore,” said J. N. Pankaj, Chief of the STF.
According to the STF, Jamiruddin used to employ around 10-15 people at the rate of ₹15,000 per month to open bank accounts. “These members usually visit various interior areas of these districts targeting mainly poor and tribal villages and lure them into opening bank accounts. Villagers are generally offered ₹2,000 per account for giving their documents and opening the bank accounts,” the investigating agency revealed.
The fraudsters, however, links mobile numbers they possess. Subsequently, the gang sells these bank accounts along with the connected mobile numbers to various cyber, cyber-financial, sextortion scammers and other criminals based out of Kolkata and other parts of India.
“They also use social media platform like WhatsApp , Facebook and Telegram to sell the mule bank accounts. They sell mule bank accounts at the rate of ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 per account. They have so far sold around 5000 mule bank accounts at different platforms,” said Mr. Pankaj.
He said, “it has also come to the notice that the scammers frequently change the bank accounts. Generally, they abandon the bank accounts once it reaches a transaction of ₹1 Lakh. Sometimes the accounts get frozen even before that by concerned banks on the request of police or other law enforcement agencies.”
Mule accounts help shield identity of fraudsters who are active in cyber space. Since the bank accounts are registered in name of villagers who do not operate them, it becomes difficult for investigators to reach out actual criminal. Earlier, the investigating agency had flagged the issue of easy issuance SIM cards which finally land in hands of fraudsters.