Rourkela Police arrests Gang involved in opening Fake Bank Accounts

Rourkela police have arrested a five-member gang involved in an online fraud racket that was specifically targeting poor and vulnerable people. These people were tricking public very smartly.

According to officials, the gang’s main operation involved opening bank accounts in the names of individuals from economically weaker sections. These accounts were then used to carry out transactions worth lakhs of rupees, all linked to various cybercrimes.

Among those arrested, two were bank employees who allegedly played a key role in enabling the fraud. During the raid, police seized 30 Aadhaar cards, 10 PAN cards, 17 bank passbooks, along with a car and a bike from the accused.

Western Range DIG Brijesh Rai said that the accused opened bank accounts and deposited money acquired through cybercrime.

These accounts acted as “safe storage” for the fraudulently obtained funds. Later, the accused withdrew the money and passed it on to the cybercriminals.

Rourkela SP Nitesh Wadhwani added that this was a highly organised operation. The gang would first collect identity proofs and SIM cards from targeted individuals, open accounts in their names, and then sell these accounts across six to seven states for use in cybercrime activities.

Official data indicates that nearly 800 such fake accounts are currently active in Rourkela alone.

CBI has also started investigation of 8.5 lakh Mule Accounts in Banks. As per CBI, lacs of mule accounts have been discovered across 700 branches of banks.

The fraud via mule accounts is increasing day by day. Banks and Government need to find out a permanent solution to it.

More details will be released soon.