HYDERABAD: The Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) arrested 81 persons, including seven women, involved in large-scale online frauds.
The 25-day-long special operation, conducted in October, targeted cybercrime syndicates operating across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh.
The arrests include 17 agents, 11 persons involved in cheque and cash withdrawals totalling `34.70 lakh, and 53 mule account holders who allegedly received up to 5% commission on fraudulent transactions. Authorities also seized 84 mobile phones, 101 SIM cards, and 89 bank passbooks and cheque books used to facilitate various online scams.
Of the 81 arrested persons, 12 have more than 30 crime links nationwide, and 54 others are connected to five separate cases.
Multiple bank accounts have been frozen, and the refund process for victims is underway in coordination with financial institutions.
Among those arrested were three bank employees, a sales executive from IDFC Bank linked to 106 cases, an employee of Federal Bank, and a branch manager of Bandhan Bank.
Others included a computer diploma holder involved in 96 cases, an accountant from Chennai, a BBA graduate, and an MNC employee who misused his corporate account for fraud. So far, the TGCSB has traced 754 crime links across India, including 128 connected to Telangana, involving an estimated `95 crore in fraudulent transactions.