Bengaluru: A cybercrime network using mule bank accounts to divert fraud proceeds has been busted by the north division cyber crime police, with investigators identifying 507 accounts linked to the accused.The arrested are Amit Mishra, from Singhbhum district in Jharkhand, Tausif Ahmed and Parashuram Sadanand Kannavar alias Pavan Kumar, both from Bengaluru. Police alleged that the accused had formed a criminal network to receive and transfer cyber-fraud proceeds through mule accounts.The case came to light after a victim, Harish Kumar KN, received a WhatsApp link on April 29. After clicking it, he was added to a WhatsApp group named ‘E1 Investment Strategies Discussion’, where messages about trading and investments were regularly posted between 7pm and 8.30pm.The fraudsters directed Harish to open a demat account in the name ‘Farallon CM’. He initially invested Rs 50,000, following which the fraudsters persuaded him to transfer money into various bank accounts. In all, he lost Rs 93.6 lakh after being promised investment returns that never materialised.Following the complaint, police launched an investigation. Acting on technical information, police arrested three accused. They seized six mobile phones from the accused. Examination of the devices led police to identify 507 mule bank accounts being used to transfer cyber-fraud money. Police also found that the accounts were linked to cybercrime cases registered in Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka and several other states.The accused used APK files to facilitate the transfer of fraud proceeds and communicated with intermediaries through WhatsApp and Telegram to obtain and exchange bank-account details. The investigation also revealed the alleged use of Binance wallets and the Botim app in connection with receiving the fraud proceeds and communication among the accused, police said.Among the main accused is Amit, who revealed the role of Tausif and Parashuram. Police are now examining WhatsApp, Telegram and email records to identify other intermediaries who supplied mule accounts to the accused and trace the wider network.The modus adopted by the fraudsters involved the procurement of current/corporate/trust bank accounts, net banking credentials and linked SIM cards of various persons by offering them commission.The account holders were accommodated in hotels, where ZNPAY/SMS-forwarding APKs were installed and the banking OTP/SMS received on the linked SIM cards was forwarded to cyber fraudsters, thereby enabling them to remotely operate the bank accounts and transfer cyber-fraud proceeds. In return, the accused persons, bank account suppliers and other intermediaries received commission.Further, the arrested revealed Rs 13 lakh of cyber-fraud proceeds was transferred to a bank account and Rs 38 lakh of cyber-fraud proceeds were transferred through another account. The details of the ZNPAY/SMS-forwarding APK files and 51 other different APK files have been forwarded to I4C, seeking technical information and further details regarding their functionality, usage and purpose.Preliminary technical/IP geolocation analysis of the above Telegram and WhatsApp IP information indicated network/IP locations associated with Kolkata, Hong Kong and California, US. Further verification is being carried out with the concerned service provider records and other technical evidence.An accused, Anoop alias Julpi, and other persons operating/using Telegram IDs @zhangxueyou123 and @SZNKM, along with other accused persons, are yet to be traced. Investigation revealed that the other accused, Sumon, Nick, Dilawar, Iftikhar, Abhinav and Vivek, were connected with ZN Pay/ZNPAY, which was linked to Amit, who is further connected with Nawaz, Shihab Boy, Dinesh, Sulpikar and Ashraf, with further links to Jayakumar, Parashuram and Tausif.
