Hyderabad, Aug 26 (Agency) Telangana Cyber Security Bureau (TGCSB) arrested two persons for their involvement in a Rs 175 crore cyber fraud. The arrested fraudsters are Mohammed Shoeb Tauqeer , a resident of Vijayanagar Colony, Masab Tank (Hyderabad), and Mahmood Bin Ahmed Bawazir, a resident of Moghalpura, Hyderabad. Based on complaint, a case was registered under u/s 66D of the IT Act, and sections 318(4), 319(2), and 338 of the BNS Act at the Cyber Crime Police Station, Headquarters, Hyderabad. The Bureau’s data analysis team detected numerous complaints reported on the NCRP portal against six bank accounts in SBI, Shamsheergunj. The team focused on this issue, and upon careful verification, it was revealed that large sums of money were transacted through these accounts within a short period of two months (March and April 2024), said TGCSB Director Shikha Goel in a release here on Sunday. The account holders were suspected of being involved in large-scale cyber fraud. Around 600 complaints are linked to these accounts.
The main fraudster, operating from Dubai, and his five associates were actively involved in luring poor people into opening bank accounts and supplying them for use in cyber crimes and hawala operations on a commission basis. Shoeb played a key role in opening bank accounts and preparing all necessary documents. After opening the accounts, the signatures of the account holders were obtained on the cheques, which were then kept in the custody of one of the associates. Some of the money was sent to Dubai through cryptocurrency. The associates withdrew the money following the directions of the main fraudster and distributed it to various individuals through his agents. Following the main fraudster’s directions, Shoeb and other associates convinced some poor individuals to open six current accounts in SBI’s Shamsheergunj branch in February 2024, luring them with commissions. In March and April, significant transactions occurred in these six accounts, totalling approximately Rs175 crores. The cyber crime police cautioned people not to open a bank account for someone else or engage in suspicious transactions. If you have already opened a mule account, report it to 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in.