Mumbai Police’s Crime Branch has busted a cyber-fraud network allegedly involving the use of 2898 SIM cards and multiple bank accounts, with three men arrested in connection with the racket. A preliminary investigation has found that the accused — Islamuddin Salimuddin Sheikh, 44, Abdul Razzaq Rauf, 42, and Yasir Nasiruddin Sheikh, 26 — allegedly routed around Rs 24 crore through just 10 bank accounts, police said on Friday.
Investigators are now examining the financial and technical trail to identify the beneficiaries of the transactions, and establish whether the arrested trio was part of a larger cyber-fraud network.
[popcorn number="10" desc="No of bank accounts used in scam" class="Default"]
Facilitating fraud
According to the police, the accused allegedly opened bank accounts in their own names as well as those of their associates and other people. They then purchased multiple SIM cards and linked them to the accounts. After the accounts were opened, they allegedly took control of the passbooks, ATM cards, cheque books, SIM cards, and other banking instruments, using them to facilitate cyber fraud.
32 complaints
The investigation by Crime Branch Unit 5 found that complaints had been registered against the bank accounts on the 1930 cybercrime helpline. Police have so far identified 32 such complaints and found transactions worth R24 crore through 10 accounts.
Massive operation
The scale of the operation emerged during the seizure of 88 bank passbooks, 143 cheque books, 100 ATM cards, 24 mobile phones, 167 SIM cards, and two laptops, besides other documents. Police said technical investigation indicated that the accused had used 2898 SIM cards for cyber-fraud activities.
Police action
A case has been registered at Malad police station under Sections 318(4), 61, 45, and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act. The three accused have been arrested and remanded in police custody till September 19.
Similar cases
The case comes amid a series of investigations exposing the infrastructure behind cyber fraud. In August, Dongri police busted an interstate mule-account racket in which 17 accounts were linked to 38 cybercrime complaints and transactions worth around Rs 25.45 crore. In another recent case, the West Cyber Police arrested seven people in an alleged digital-arrest racket and seized 613 SIM cards, along with phones, laptops, and banking documents. In a two-month period, Mumbai Police reportedly dealt with 24,860 cyber-fraud cases, blocking Rs 18.27 crore and facilitating the return of Rs 3.97 crore to 6096 victims.
About 1903
Mumbai Police’s 1930 cyber helpline has been operating 24x7 since May 2022, allowing victims to report fraud immediately and enabling police to alert banks and attempt to freeze the defrauded money.
0 Comments