Don’t Share Bank Accounts, SIM Cards: Police

Hyderabad: A 25-year-old waiter in Mumbai opened a bank account and handed it over for Rs 5,000, unaware that he was enabling a cybercrime network. Investigators say such cases, involving vulnerable individuals and weak verification systems, form the backbone of large fraud operations.

On Sunday, the Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) announced the arrest of 81 people accused of acting as intermediaries in cybercrimes by providing bank accounts, commonly referred to as mule accounts, to networks suspected to be operating from call centres in Myanmar and Cambodia. The 81 suspects are linked to 112 cybercrime cases, with one account alone connected to 106 alleged frauds.

The arrests underscore how residents from rural and semi-urban backgrounds are coaxed into opening bank accounts or acquiring SIM cards, and how poor enforcement and inadequate checks at banks and telecom outlets allow such misuse to continue.

According to the police, scamsters often create current accounts and shell companies through which money moves rapidly across states. “Online KYC checks have become a real threat. Some bank officials do not bother to verify why someone needs a current account, whether the applicant lives near the branch or whether the details are genuine,” TGCSB DSP K.V. Suryaprakash told Deccan Chronicle. “Money is routed into shell-company accounts without banks checking their legitimacy. Someone in Mumbai may be linked to a scam committed in Gujarat and withdraw money in Mumbai with no questions asked.”

He said the involvement of bank officials and telecom sales staff has also been rising. “We have arrested four or five bank officials who either misused an innocent person’s account or acted as agents, luring people into creating mule accounts,” he added.

Telecom verification processes show similar weaknesses. “Some salespersons at telecom stores misuse Aadhaar details to issue SIM cards. One Aadhaar holder can buy up to eight SIMs. Fraudsters use Aadhaar details of unsuspecting customers to issue SIMs to agents running these scams, or they issue SIMs without proper checks,” TGCSB additional SP Bhikshma Reddy said.

Officials said many intermediaries do not fully understand the risks of handing over their accounts or ID proofs. “The usual targets are people from economically weaker sections. Even if someone was a fraud victim first and was coerced or misled into creating a mule account or obtaining SIM cards later used in the offence, they can still face prosecution. Many people simply do not realise the consequences,” another officer said.