Bengaluru, India – A shocking revelation has come to light as the Bengaluru cyber crime police uncovered a vast fraud network operating from a nondescript single-bedroom house on the city’s northern fringe. This clandestine operation, managed by a 33-year-old MBA graduate and a 36-year-old software engineer, employed individuals to keep eight mobile phones active around the clock.
Deception Unveiled
The investigation into this network began when a 26-year-old woman fell victim to a scheme that lured her into making small investments for high returns through an app and a WhatsApp group, resulting in a complaint of cheating amounting to Rs 8.5 lakh. This complaint led the police to the rented house in Yelahanka, where they arrested the MBA graduate, Manoj Sreenivas, the software engineer, Phanindra K, and four others, including the individuals responsible for managing the cell phones.
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Enormous Financial Scam
As the investigation unfolded, it was revealed that this one-bedroom house served as the back office for a massive fraud network operating across India. An astonishing Rs 854 crore had flowed through 84 bank accounts over the last two years. When the police traced and froze these accounts in September, only Rs 5 crore remained.
A Vast Network
Further investigation revealed that these bank accounts were linked to 5,013 cases of cybercrime reported across India. This indicated that the same set of bank accounts had been used repeatedly by cybercriminals to funnel ill-gotten funds. While 17 of these cases originated in Bengaluru, the total count in Karnataka stood at 487.
International Connections
The funds that passed through the 84 suspect accounts, amounting to Rs 854 crore, were channeled into gaming apps, cryptocurrencies like USDT, online casinos, and payment gateways. The police suspect that the masterminds behind this fraud network, based in Dubai, communicated with the Bengaluru operators exclusively through social media. There is also a suspicion of Chinese links to the Dubai-based operators, although their apprehension is still pending.
A Pattern of Deception
Similar cases of fraud have been uncovered in India recently, with Hyderabad revealing a network where 15,000 individuals were cheated out of Rs 712 crore by local operatives connected to Dubai-based operators with links to China. These investigations have also hinted at connections to terror financing, with fraudulently acquired funds allegedly diverted to crypto wallets linked to groups like the Lebanese Hezbollah.
Method of Operation
The fraud networks lure victims through messaging apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, initially persuading them to invest small amounts, promising high daily returns. The Indian operators received a commission of 1-3% for each transaction they facilitated.
Dubai Connection
The local operatives were instructed by Dubai-based counterparts to use an app that cloned bank OTPs (sent to local phone numbers linked to the suspect bank accounts) to make it appear as if the bank accounts were being operated locally; According Cyber crime police
The Victims
Victims of these frauds are often enticed to invest small sums with the promise of substantial profits. In the case reported on April 28, the 26-year-old complainant initially encountered an app called “The Winegroup,” which led her into the scam through a WhatsApp group.
Cases registered all over India
Legal Proceedings
In bail hearings, key accused MBA graduate Manoj Sreenivas and bank account creator Vasanth Kumar claimed they were falsely implicated. They argued that they had not approached the complainant to deposit funds, and she had invested voluntarily.
While a local Bengaluru court granted bail in one of the cases, the accused remain in custody in other cases registered in Bengaluru over the last two years. The Karnataka High Court has granted an interim stay on investigations related to the cybercrime.
This discovery highlights the importance of staying vigilant and cautious when approached with enticing investment opportunities via social media.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is based on reports from the Bengaluru cyber crime police, and further investigations are ongoing.
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