Cyber Fraud Network: three arrested, 507 bank accounts linked to accused frozen
You don’t have any Active Subscription.
Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription
Representational image of cyber fraud. | Photo Credit: GettyImages/iStockphoto
Investigating an online trading and investment fraud involving ₹93.58 lakh, sleuths from the Cyber Command have arrested three persons and uncovered a network allegedly involving the procurement and supply of 507 bank accounts to cyber fraudsters. These accounts have now been frozen.
A case was registered on April 29, 2026, after complainant Harish Kumar K. N. was allegedly induced to transfer ₹93,58,555 to various bank accounts and was cheated.
The prime accused, Amit Mishra, was arrested on September 8. During his interrogation, the alleged involvement of Tausif Ahmed and Parashuram Sadanand Kannanavar alias Pavan Kumar came to light. Both were arrested.
During interrogation, police recorded the voluntary statements of all three accused and, after obtaining court permission, examined their seized mobile phones. Investigators recovered WhatsApp and Telegram chats, bank account details and other digital evidence.
According to the investigation, the accused allegedly procured current, corporate and bank accounts, net-banking credentials and linked SIM cards from account holders by offering them commissions. The account holders were allegedly accommodated in hotels, where ZNPAY/SMS-forwarding APKs were installed to forward banking OTPs and SMS messages to cyber fraudsters.
The arrangement allegedly enabled cyber fraudsters to remotely operate the bank accounts and transfer proceeds of cybercrime. The account holders, accused, and other intermediaries allegedly received commissions in return.
Examination of the seized mobile phones revealed information relating to 507 bank accounts allegedly collected from various persons and supplied to cyber fraudsters. Police found that in the particular case, approximately ₹13 lakh in cyber-fraud proceeds was transferred through a nationalised bank account, while more than ₹38 lakh was transferred through a private bank’s current account.
Police have seized six mobile phones from the three accused. Details of the ZNPAY/SMS forwarding APK and 51 other APK files have been sent to the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) for technical analysis.
The digital investigation also identified Telegram and WhatsApp accounts allegedly used by the accused and other absconding cyber fraudsters. Preliminary IP and geolocation analysis indicated network locations associated with Kolkata, Hong Kong, and California, USA. Police said further verification is being carried out through service-provider records and other technical evidence.
Investigators are now examining the KYC details, bank statements, money trail, cybercrime complaint linkages of the 507 accounts, linked SIM cards, APK infrastructure, WhatsApp and Telegram communications, IP logs, intermediaries, and ultimate beneficiaries.
Persons running the identified telegram IDs involved in the scam are yet to be traced. The investigation has also revealed alleged links of the arrested accused to several other accused, whose specific roles and extent of involvement of the persons are being investigated.
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.
