Fake apps, mule accounts, crypto trail: Bengaluru police uncover fraud network

In Bengaluru, police have arrested three men accused of orchestrating a massive online trading and investment fraud that cost a resident nearly Rs 94 lakh. The investigation also revealed a vast network involving over 500 mule bank accounts, with financial transactions tracing to Kolkata, Hong Kong, and California. The case originated from a May 28 complaint by a Peenya resident alleging he was forced to transfer Rs 93,58,555 to various accounts.

The probe uncovered details of 507 bank accounts allegedly obtained from different individuals and supplied to the fraud network. Authorities discovered about Rs 13 lakh of the fraud proceeds flowed through a government-owned bank account, while over Rs 38 lakh passed through a private bank current account. Police traced a mobile phone to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and arrested Amit Mishra from Jharkhand's East Singhbhum district, who was identified as the mastermind.

They also apprehended Tausif Ahmed and Parashuram Sadanand Kannanavar, known as Pavan Kumar, in Bengaluru on September 9. The police seized six mobile phones from the trio. A fourth suspect, Anoop alias Julpi, along with Telegram users @zhangxueyou123 and @SZNKM, are still at large. The investigation traced about Rs 94 lakh to the accused network and identified several associates, including Sumon, Nick, Dilawar, Iftikhar, Abhinav, and Vivek, linked to the "ZNPAY" platform and Mishra.

Mishra allegedly had ties to Nawaz, Shihab Boy, Dinesh, Sulpikar, and Ashraf, as well as Jayakumar, Pavan Kumar, and Tausif Ahmed. Police are probing each individual's role. The fraudsters procured current, corporate, and trust bank accounts, procured net banking credentials, and obtained SIM cards from various individuals, paying them commissions.

They operated from a hotel in Kachuvanahalli, luring victims to deposit money in the hotel, where they installed fake apps that intercepted banking OTPs and forwarded SMS alerts, allowing the fraudsters to access and manipulate bank accounts remotely. The accused received a commission of Rs 1.5 to 2 lakh for each transaction. Forensic analysis of Telegram, Botim, and WhatsApp accounts linked to the suspects revealed IP addresses in Kolkata, Hong Kong, and California, with further investigation on international connections underway.