Raids carried out based on intel from bankers

Surat: After cautioning bank officials on laxity that enables cyberfraud, Surat cybercrime police raided several places and seized many bank account kits. Police received intelligence from the bank officials they had cautioned. According to sources, they called 60-odd officials from four banks in Surat where the highest number of accounts linked to cyberfraud were found.

"Four banks and several of their branches were on our radar for three months. We found that most of the accounts were opened in these banks as they provide international debit cards without strict verification. The accused used these debit cards for withdrawals in Dubai and converted the money to the USDT cryptocurrency there.



We found that people who did not have passports also used their debit cards in Dubai. This means that the cybercriminals used them," said a highly placed source in Surat crime branch. Surat crime branch personnel called officials from Canara Bank, Jammu and Kashmir Bank, Uco Bank and Indian Bank.

Around 60 officials were cautioned about precautions to be taken on account opening. "We told officials that frequent freezing of accounts in their banks, frequent withdrawals, large numbers of people coming to open bank accounts, people not knowing how to fill in forms and people from other areas coming to the bank are red flags that could lead to the apprehension of cybercriminals," said an official. At least three officials informed police about dubious activities in the bank accounts.

Based on that information, Cybercrime police raided several places and seized debit cards, account kits and SIM cards on Wednesday. Bankers to be probed Surat police also found some evidence against bank officials involved in bulk account opening. Accordingly, police zeroed in on some officials at a certain bank branch.

Police will likely investigate bank officials in cybercrime cases soon..