Worrisome trend as Nashik and Pune youths involved as money mules aiding cybercriminals. Read more

With the tremendous increase in cybercrime cases in the developing cities of Pune and Nashik, the increase in the number of ‘money mules’ has also increased. The involvement of youth from these cities is worrisome as they act as a middleman between the victim and the scammer by providing their bank account details. The emergence of Pune and Nashik youths as facilitators for cybercriminals highlights the tactics employed by cyber fraud networks to evade detection and perpetrate financial crimes.

 A ‘money mule’ is an individual who allows money to be transacted to his or her account for the fraudsters, and in return, they receive a compensation amount for helping them conduct such scams.”They use current bank accounts as there is no limit on money transactions in such accounts. Also, as soon as money is received, they instruct the account holder to lodge a police complaint regarding hacking his or her account so that the police do not doubt them,” said a senior police official from Chandan Nagar Police Station.

A recent incident took place at Pimpri-Chinchwad’s Thergaon, where a money muler named Abhishekh Ranade fell prey to cyber fraudsters by providing his bank account details in exchange for some money. In 2023, when a cyber fraud was being investigated, the amount had been transferred to Ranade’s bank account, and during interrogation with him, it was revealed that he was scammed by the fraudsters into leaking his bank information, where this money got transferred. Ranade came in contact with a few individuals in Nashik who lured him into giving his bank account details in return for Rs. 5 lakh.

Several more reported cases are similar to Ranade’s.It is of utmost importance for each one of us to remain alert and stay away from falling to such fraudulent activities. Also, it is necessary to report such activities to the nearest police or cyber police station for early detection.