Hyderabad: Cops bust organised mule accounts gang, arrest one

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Cyber Security Bureau, along with Nirmal police busted an organised mule accounts gang and arrested a prime suspect who was involved in using bank accounts in cyber frauds.

The apprehended person, Pranay Shinde (26) from Bhainsa Town, Nirmal district, was found in possession of two mobile phones, three bank passbooks, 43 chequebooks, 30 ATM cards, and 8 SIM cards, all of which were seized by the police.

According to the police, initial investigations revealed that Pranay Shinde, along with his associates, opened numerous mule bank accounts across various banks. The accused approached residents of various villages in Bhainsa mandal, requesting them to open bank accounts using their credentials. Once the accounts were opened, they would take possession of the passbooks, cheque books, debit cards, and others. The SMS alert numbers connected to the said bank accounts were provided by the accused.

The police stated that Pranay Shinde's involvement extended to online cricket betting. He initially connected with an unidentified person through the Telegram app and began earning commissions by promoting and referring customers to cricket betting apps. Subsequently, he started supplying bank accounts required for online fraud. Additionally, he persuaded many villagers to open multiple mule accounts at various banks.

Pranay and his associate played a key role in opening bank accounts for commission. The unknown person provided SIM cards via courier for the purpose of opening these accounts. They used these SIM cards as registered mobile numbers to open numerous accounts.

During the investigation, it was revealed that approximately 125 mule accounts were opened. These accounts were then used by unknown persons to conduct large-scale transactions. An investigation is underway to uncover the entire network.