Daijiworld Media Network - Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, May 23: Cyber police in Gujarat have arrested 13 persons for their alleged involvement in 982 cybercrime cases reported across the country, in which victims collectively lost Rs 631.86 crore, officials said on Saturday.

According to Superintendent of Police Rajdeepsinh Zala, the arrests were made under ‘Operation Mule Hunt 2.0’ from Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Bharuch and Rajkot.

He said the action by the state’s Cyber Centre of Excellence (CCE) helped bust a major cybercrime network operating across multiple states.

Police said the accused were arrested in connection with four separate cases, while more than 200 FIRs had been registered nationwide relating to the frauds.

Investigators revealed that one of the accused allegedly used leaked databases available through Telegram groups to obtain bank customer IDs. After acquiring One-Time Passwords (OTPs) from customers, he reportedly hacked bank accounts and transferred money into mule accounts.

Another accused allegedly used different firms to open mule accounts for carrying out fraudulent transactions.

Police said the network was involved in multiple forms of cyber fraud, including online financial scams, internet banking fraud, UPI-related fraud, investment scams and deposit frauds.

Officials added that details of 45 bank accounts linked to the accused were checked on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal and were found connected to 982 cyber fraud complaints registered across India.

Of these complaints, 137 cases were reported in Maharashtra, 126 in Karnataka and 77 in Gujarat.