Bengaluru: In a major cybercrime and financial fraud case, Bengaluru police have arrested four individuals, including an Axis Bank relationship manager, for allegedly siphoning off ₹12.2 crore from Dreamplug Paytech Solutions Private Limited, the company behind Cred — a rewards platform for credit card payments.
The arrested individuals include Vaibhav Pithadiya, a relationship manager at Axis Bank in Rajkot; Parmar Neha Ben Vipulbhai, a banking agent from Surat; Shailesh, an insurance agent and colleague of Vaibhav; and Shubham, a commission agent from Rajkot. The arrests were made by the Cyber, Economic, and Narcotics (CEN) East police after a complaint by Narasimha Vasanth Sastry, an executive at Dreamplug.
How Fraud was done?
Fraud Uncovered During Routine Audit
The fraud came to light on November 12 when Dreamplug executives noticed suspicious transactions in their Axis Bank accounts. The company, an online payment aggregator with offices in Bengaluru and Mumbai, discovered that ₹12.2 crore had been fraudulently withdrawn from its current and nodal accounts. These accounts, opened in 2021, were linked to four user IDs provided by Axis Bank. While only two IDs were activated by the company, the fraudsters exploited the remaining two.
Sophisticated Fraud Scheme
The accused used fake documents, including forged signatures, seals, and board resolutions, to manipulate account details with Axis Bank. They submitted fraudulent requests to change the registered mobile number and email ID associated with the accounts, enabling them to intercept one-time passwords (OTPs) and authorize fund transfers.
The fraudsters initiated 37 unauthorized transactions between October 29 and November 11, attempting to transfer ₹15.2 crore. While ₹12.2 crore was successfully transferred, the remaining amount could not be siphoned off.
The first request to alter account details was made on July 22 at an Axis Bank branch in Ankleshwar, Gujarat, followed by another on October 12 at a branch in Abrama, Surat. Despite the use of suspicious personal email IDs and mobile numbers that did not match Dreamplug’s Bengaluru-based operations, the requests were processed by Axis Bank.
Transactions and Fraudulent Accounts
The fraudulent transactions were carried out using unauthorized access granted through email IDs such as vrvithal098@gmail.com and utsavmaterial76@gmail.com and mobile numbers 9662369909 and 8469158856. The stolen funds were then transferred to multiple accounts across the country.
Police Investigation and Arrests
The CEN East police traced the crime back to the suspects and arrested them after uncovering their sophisticated operation. The police are investigating further to identify other accomplices and recover the stolen funds. This case highlights vulnerabilities in banking processes and the need for stringent checks to prevent fraud, particularly in cases involving changes to sensitive account details.
