BENGALURU: Cybercrime investigators, who have cracked multiple mule accounts, have observed a clear pattern of north-south divide in India: cyber fraudsters in the north target victims in the south, while those in the south target victims in the north.
A police officer who is part of investigations into mule accounts (accounts used to receive and transfer funds acquired illegally on behalf of others) in Karnataka said all those accounts that were cracked were linked to villages in the north. The officer explained that this calculated move allowed fraudsters to act swiftly so that by the time a complaint was filed and police initiated action, the accused could transfer money and escape. This allowed adequate time to escape even if the police in the north alerted their southern counterparts to act.
Mule accounts make things complicated as these have to be addressed through collaborative efforts involving the police in the north and the south and the banks whose accounts are being used, which takes time, allowing the accused to escape or take evasive action.
Fraudsters target people seeking part-time jobs
The officer, who requested anonymity, explained: “There are two kinds of mule accounts, one where the victims willingly provide their details against a promise of receiving a 1% commission on credited amounts. In these cases, the account holder is often unaware of the source of funds.”
The other is well-executed with a 5% commission, wherein bank account holders lose access to their accounts without their knowledge. This is done through various websites that are frequently deleted within a week. The websites — like gaming websites — are designed in a way that the victims are prompted to pay a certain amount for which they get ‘double credit points’ for the amounts they pay. For such transactions, different numbers linked to different UPI accounts are provided for victims to pay.
Subsequently, the fraudsters target people for part-time jobs involving checking and verifying bank transactions originating from these gaming apps. The process ensures that both — the individuals paying for the gaming sites and those verifying the bank details — remain unaware of the larger scam, the officer explained.
“In such cases, within a week, the website’s URL is altered, and many mule accounts are blocked. Out of multiple mule accounts that were cracked, only eight accounts remain unblocked. When we verified and traced the account holders, they said they were unaware of having a bank account. During investigations, it was revealed that these victims had shared their Aadhaar card and PAN details, which were exploited by the fraudsters,” the officer added. Ultimately, all the funds funnel into the hands of a mastermind orchestrating the scam, who either converts the money into cryptocurrency or has an international bank account for easy withdrawal.
The senior officer highlighted: “While individuals must be cautious in all financial transactions, financial institutions, including private and regional banks, should enforce strict protocols for account creation. The ease of opening an account solely with a SIM card, just by accessing another individual’s government ID proof, complicates the investigations.”