BHUBANESWAR/BALANGIR: In a major crackdown against online financial frauds, Balangir police arrested two scamsters for allegedly selling over 300 mule bank accounts to cyber criminals for a whopping `30 lakh in the last three months.
Balangir police launched an investigation after receiving information that hundreds of premium current and corporate bank accounts opened in the names of the locals were being used by the cyber criminals mostly based out of West Bengal to dupe innocent people across the country.
After questioning some persons in whose names the mule bank accounts were reportedly opened, the police nabbed the prime suspects identified as Debasis Kanti (31) and Soumya Ranjan Kabat, both natives of Chudapali village.
“The two were selling mule bank accounts to cyber criminals in West Bengal since the last one year. These accounts were then used to commit cyber crimes and money laundering,” said Northern Range IG Himanshu Lal.
He said, a team will be sent to West Bengal to apprehend the masterminds of the scam. Investigation revealed the accused were mostly targeting people in financial distress or students in Balangir town, Sadar, Loisingha and other areas of the district.
The two would pay a meagre `500 to the gullible victims for opening accounts in his/her name and in some instances they just provided some food to them, said police sources.
Debasis and Soumya sold at least 300 such mule bank accounts for `10,000 each in last five months since October. In fact, the investigators noticed financial transactions worth `5 crore during the period in one of the mule bank accounts opened in the name of an unsuspecting local.
The fraudsters used to link the mule bank accounts with fake SIM cards to avoid coming under the scanner of the investigative agencies and also provided the ATM cards and bank passbooks to the cyber criminals in neighbouring West Bengal. Police said, the two used these mule bank accounts to commit investment/lottery frauds, digital arrest scams and to extort money by morphing photographs.
Balangir SP Abhilash G said, both Debasis and Soumya used to sell mule bank accounts enabled to carry out high value transactions. Probe suggests the two are involved in the scam since the last one year, he added.
Police have seized 29 bank passbooks, 15 cheque books, 10 debit cards, one POS machine, five SIM cards and a four-wheeler from the duo. Odisha Police have planned to launch a seven-day special drive against benami bank accounts from February 20 to 27.