Wayanad, According to cyber police officials here on Tuesday, more than 500 people—mostly young men and women—have been duped by the “mule account” fraud in Kerala’s Wayanad hill area. Investigators said that fraudsters from outside the district rented bank accounts belonging to locals in order to obtain money, which they subsequently utilized for unlawful transactions and other purposes.
A number of Wayanad account holders are currently dealing with complaints that have been filed in several northern and northeastern Indian states. Within the boundaries of the Kambalakkad police station, at least six individuals are dealing with such instances. A cyber police source informed PTI that Nagaland police had already detained one of them and transported him to Kohima.
After being detained, Ismayil, 27, was sent to Nagaland. In a related case involving a ₹58,000 transaction through his account, Dehradun police sent notice to another young person, Muhammad Fanish, according to the sources. Police in Lucknow also filed a case against Salmath, a local woman, when her younger brother gave thieves access to her bank account information, which they then exploited in a scam.
Over 500 young individuals in the district have gotten into problems by renting out their bank accounts in order to get quick money, according to Wayanad Cyber Police. According to reports, scammers were paying between ₹5,000 and ₹10,000 for each account. However, account holders were left to deal with police action after fraud-related cases were filed.
According to authorities, similar incidences have been reported in Malappuram and Kozhikode, two nearby districts. Ismayil was arrested by Nagaland police eight days ago, according to his family, and there hasn’t been any news since. “We have no knowledge of his financial dealings. The police informed us that his account had been used for unlawful transactions totaling ₹12 lakhs. We don’t have enough cash to cover his bail.
The aged man told PTI, “We don’t know what to do.” “Middlemen were active in Wayanad, approaching locals with offers to buy or rent their bank accounts at high prices,” a young man from Kambalakkad stated. “They would give us money in exchange for our bank account number, OTP, and other information. Only when the police knock on our door do we realize it’s a trap,” he claimed.