Patna : Three men have been arrested in Patna for allegedly renting out their bank accounts to cyber fraudsters, enabling them to route money linked to several online scams, police said. The accused, identified as Prabhakar, Amit and Deepak, reportedly received between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 for each transaction conducted through their accounts. According to police, the accounts were used to process transactions worth around Rs 25 crore.
Police said the accounts were being used by an interstate cyber crime syndicate to receive and transfer money linked to online fraud. Cyber crime complaints against the three men have been filed on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) by victims from several states, said DSP Sangita Kumari, in-charge of the Cyber Police Station in Patna. The police arrested two of the accused from Patna and the third from Bihar’s Buxar district.
Investigators are now trying to trace the larger network behind the transactions and identify the people who allegedly used the rented accounts to move money obtained through cyber fraud. Police are also investigating how many other people may have rented out their bank accounts to the suspected syndicate and what role they played in the alleged fraud.
Investigators have so far detected transactions involving more than Rs3 crore in suspected cyberfraud proceeds through the identified accounts. Ten cybercrime complaints from different states have also been linked to the accounts and the alleged network through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP). Police recovered five mobile phones, several ATM/debit cards, cheque books, passbooks and other materials from the arrested suspects.
Authorities are now verifying the role of other account holders, beneficiaries, cybercriminals and people associated with the network,” SP (Investigation and Operation) Rajesh Kumar said. He added that the CCSU was analysing digital and financial evidence to trace the wider network and establish the money trail of the suspected fraud proceeds. Further legal action are underway, he said.
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