Mule a/c holders lodged in hotels by cybercrooks to reroute gains; 5 held

CHENNAI: Modifying their earlier strategy, cyber fraudsters now make mule bank account holders stay in hotel rooms while their accounts are used to park and reroute the gains from cyber frauds, police have found.

Earlier, agents used to collect banking kits from the mule account holders, but with several arrests being made across the country, especially of mule account holders, people are not forthcoming to part with their account details, resulting in this new strategy, which is already on the rise across the country, according to the police.

On Monday, Avadi City Police busted a five-member gang – all graduates – who acted as middlemen for the cyber fraudsters they got acquainted with through Telegram groups.

Avadi City Police were acting on a complaint from G Bijayan (44) of Veppampattu, who lost Rs 10.25 lakh in an online trading scam. A team led by Cyber Crime Inspector S Sudhakar went on a digital trail and was led to the middlemen gang, who screened potential mule account holders and then booked them into hotels in and around Chennai so that their bank accounts could be used in real time. “The commission amount is shared among the middlemen and the account holders,” pointed out a police officer.

Avadi Police’s cybercrime team had received a tip-off about the gang operating from a lodge in Pallavaram and arrested K Anokraju (31), Alwin Joy (24), B Saran (29), Joseph Babu (37), and V Vignesh (22). Anokraju is a BCom graduate and a cricket coach. Police said that he had played club cricket in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). His accomplice, Joseph, is an MCA graduate who works in a mobile accessories shop.

Anokraju and Joseph used to facilitate mule account holders, while Saran was tasked with checking their bank accounts and ensuring that the third-party beneficiaries are kept posted for smooth operations when the bank accounts are being used for parking money from victims, police said.

Vignesh and Alwin were tasked with conducting recces at lodges and hotels, and additionally, they keep a watch when the account holders are lodged in the rooms.

“Usually, only mule account holders are arrested. They are the lowest rung in the cybercriminal network. We have managed to bust a middleman gang,” a senior police officer said, adding, “They claim they report to Chinese handlers they got acquainted through Telegram groups.”

The Avadi police team secured six mobile phones and two laptops from the accused. All the arrested were produced before the judicial magistrate, Poonamallee, and remanded to prison.