Pune Crime Files: Web developer to realtor, how mule accounts power cyber frauds | Pune News | #cybercrime | #infosec

In a shift, the police are now invoking strict organised crime provisions against the holders of these accounts. Operation Mule Hunt is a sweeping exercise aimed at identifying, freezing, and prosecuting the holders of bank accounts used in cyber fraud reported across India.

Acting on intelligence shared through the Ministry of Home Affairs’s Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), investigators have registered 15 criminal cases in the last three days against suspected mule account holders after tracing transactions linked to cybercrime complaints from multiple states.

For instance, one of the accounts was opened in the name of a grocery business, which saw Rs 94 lakh credited and then withdrawn within just 11 days. This account was identified in 13 cybercrime complaints filed across five states.

In another case, a public sector bank account registered in the name of a web developer was involved in cybercrime-related transactions totalling Rs 55 lakh in just three days. A third account, linked to a real estate developer that existed only on paper, recorded transactions totalling Rs 20 lakh within a single week.

“The operation is based on analysis of data available through the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and the SAMANVAYA Portal, which aggregate complaints and financial intelligence from across India. By matching suspicious transaction trails with bank accounts operating within Pimpri Chinchwad limits, investigators identified accounts that repeatedly surfaced in complaints involving cyber fraud,” said an officer from the Pimpri Chinchwad police.

The evolution of mule racket

A mule account is a bank account that cybercriminals use to receive proceeds of fraud and then quickly transfer or withdraw the funds. The account may belong to someone who knowingly rents or sells it for a commission, or to an unsuspecting person who is persuaded to hand over banking credentials.

According to the police, cybercriminals never use accounts opened in their own names. Instead, they recruit unemployed youth or financially vulnerable individuals via Telegram, WhatsApp, and other social media, promising easy commissions or part-time income in exchange for bank account details. In other cases, they purchase fully functional accounts complete with ATM cards, internet banking credentials and SIM cards linked to the accounts.

“The registration of these cases under organised crime provisions of the BNS signals an evolving legal approach to cybercrime. We increasingly view mule accounts as the financial infrastructure of organised cyber fraud rather than incidental tools used by individual offenders. By invoking organised crime provisions, we want to establish that the recruitment of account holders, the procurement of bank accounts, the movement of illicit funds, and their subsequent layering constitute a coordinated criminal enterprise,” said the office.

The approach could enable the police to pursue the entire network, from account suppliers and middlemen to those who control the proceeds, rather than limiting prosecutions to the immediate beneficiaries of fraudulent transfers.

Investigators say the racket has evolved further, with fraudsters using individuals’ identity documents to register shell firms and open current accounts capable of handling high-value transactions.

“These accounts then become conduits for money siphoned from victims across the country. By freezing suspect accounts, identifying account holders, agents and handlers, and tracing the movement of funds, we hope to work backwards to the organised networks operating behind online scams,” another officer said.

The police have urged citizens never to rent, sell or allow others to operate their bank accounts, regardless of promises of easy money. Cybercriminals often claim that company funds, GST refunds, gaming proceeds or loan disbursals need temporary routing through personal accounts. Investigators warned that account holders may face criminal prosecution if their accounts are used to launder proceeds of fraud.

“With cybercrime increasingly becoming a battle of financial intelligence rather than just digital forensics, Operation Mule Hunt reflects a shift in policing strategy, from merely chasing anonymous scammers to systematically dismantling the banking infrastructure that keeps cyber fraud networks alive,” said the officer.