Sajjanar urges RBI to deploy ‘mule hunter’ tool to curb cyber fraud

Hyderabad: City police commissioner V.C. Sajjanar on Friday urged RBI Deputy Governor J. Swaminathan to implement ‘mule hunter’ tool in banks to detect those providing bank accounts to scamsters. During their meeting here, Sajjanar termed ‘mule accounts’ as the "oxygen" sustaining cybercriminals.

He said that fraudsters lure students and daily wage labourers to open bank accounts by paying them commissions ranging from Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 each. The accounts are then used to divert funds from cyber fraud.

“Funds siphoned off from victims are diverted through these accounts within minutes,” Sajjanar noted. To counter this, he proposed establishment of a dedicated centralised database to identify and track such mule accounts.

Sajjanar also advocated for strengthening the implementation of KYC norms and better due diligence by banks. Highlighting the procedural delays in investigations, the police commissioner suggested certain steps, such as immediate sharing of technical evidence, including standardised bank account statements reflecting the appropriate details, by banks, and coordinating with central agencies.

Deputy Governor Swaminathan said the RBI and the banks had taken a number of steps to reduce digital fraud and would continue to further strengthen the payment ecosystem. He also assured Sajjanar that suitable measures would be taken to address the issues the police commissioner had raised.