Cyberabad Police arrest gang stealing bank data, cheating credit cardholders

HYDERABAD: Cyber Crime Police of Cyberabad busted a gang of fraudsters accused of stealing confidential bank data and cheating credit cardholders.

Commissioner of Cyberabad Police Stephen Raveendra disclosed the details at a press conference here on Thursday.

This gang was operating from Delhi, collecting the confidential credit card customer data from the banks. They would get it either from executives working for the banks concerned or from employees working in Companies to whom banks had outsourced the work of field verification of customers who were applying for credit cards or outsourced the work of customer care.

Using this data, the fraudsters would contact the cardholders pretending as the customer care executives of bank and cheat them under the pretence of activating card, renewal, redeeming card points etc. They are using No broker, Magic bricks, Housing.com sites to transfer money from credit cards to mule bank accounts.

The Cyber Crime P.S Cyberabad has registered a case under Cr. No.237/2023 U/s 419, 420, 120 (B) IPC & Sec. 43, 66, 66-B, 66-C, & 66-D of IT Act registered at Cyber Crime P.S Cyberabad.

The first four accused, who were arrested, are found to have collected the credit card data of Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India from the executives A6 and his associates (A5, A9 & A10), who are working for bank and few open sources on Internet respectively.

The first accused person Kafil Ahmed established a call centre in Delhi and his associates A2-A4 dupe the credit card holders as bank executives and cheat them under the guise of card activation etc. and transfer the money gotten through cheating to mule accounts through No-broker, Magic Bricks, Housing.com platforms.

From those platforms, the money will be routed to mule bank accounts which are acquired by A1 from A7. Accused person Veerendra Singh ( A5) works for a company to whom bank shares customer data and has outsourced the work of customer care and card activation. The A5 secretly captures the credit cardholders credentials on his phone and shares with the fraudsters. The accused A6, A9 & A10 also work as third party agents for the reputed banks and NBFC (Non-Banking Financial companies) and they are assigned to do field verification of the customer data sent to them by the bank. Instead, they collect the valuable customer information and sell it to fraudsters. The Accused A7 procures Mule bank accounts and makes withdrawals for A1 when cheated amount is credited to them.

ACCUSED DETAILS WITH ROLES REVEALED IN THIS CASE

A1.Kafil Ahmed: Established fake call centre in Delhi along with A2, A3 and A4. Collected credit card database from A5 & A6 by corrupting them.Also collected mule bank accounts for encashing cheated amounts& SIM cards used for calling while cheating from A7. Along with his team using Nobroker.com, Housing.com, Paytm & Magic bricks Platforms to transfer cheated funds to mule bank accounts.

A2.Mohd. Jamal Associate in call centre of A1 and looks after recruitment and collection of Information &OTP’s from customers. He also acts as head to the other staff and monitor them at the time of calling and defrauding.

A3.Mohd. Asif Act as tele caller sin call centre of A1 and convince people to transfer money to mule accounts.

A4.Chirag Act as tele caller sin call centre of A1 and convince people to transfer money to mule accounts.

A5.Virendra Singh Customer care executive at Tech Mahindra @ Noida which works for Bank of Baroda as third party in activation of the new cards & for solving queries. He used to steal confidential customer’s data (application number, name, mobile number, and credit card type) from office systems before the office hours and sell data in the market by charging Rs. 10-20 per card.

A6.Pradeep Walia Ex- Employee at matrix @ Haryana. Purchased credit card data from A5, A6, A10 & other online sellers for Rs. 10-20 and resell the same to A1 for profits.

A7.Akash @ Aakash Nirwan Ex-Employee at Vodafone post-paid, he arranged pre-activated SIM cards for Rs. 800/- per SIM & Mule Bank Accounts for 20% commission on transactions. He procured bank accounts from his circle and handed the same to A1 by taking payment.

A9.Vikas Puri Sell SBI, BOB and RBL banks credit card data to A6 from his working companies Matrix and Astute Group (third party companies for customer verification) where credit card/loan verification done.

A10.Ateet Das Employee at Astute Group (third party company for customer verification) where credit card/loan verification is done. Provided BOB, RBL data to A6 for Rs.10/- per card.

Seizure

1. Mobile phones – 13 mobiles

2. Laptop –01

3. Data of credit card customers.

PUBLIC ADVISORY

 Do not share your personal information with unknown individuals or websites, especially financial information such as credit card numbers and banking details.

 Beware if someone in name of a legitimate like Company asks you to make payments to personal accounts.

 Use unique, complex passwords for each of your online accounts, and update them regularly to ensure your accounts remain secure.

 Ensure your operating system, software, and applications are updated regularly, as software updates often include security patches to protect against cyber threats.

 Install reputable antivirus software and keep it updated to protect your devices from viruses, malware, and other online threats.

 Stay alert for suspicious activities, such as unexpected emails or calls asking for personal information or payment details. Report any suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities.

 Stay informed about the latest cyber security threats and best practices by reading news articles, blogs, and other resources.