In Ahmedabad, a significant online fraud has been uncovered, involving a gang that exploited a company owner’s lost SIM card to steal Rs2.29 crore through net banking. The Ahmedabad Cyber Crime unit arrested a key suspect and traced the operation to the notorious Munna Ansari gang from Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, a sharpshooter linked to the gang was also apprehended. Authorities are intensifying the investigation into the case.
The fraud came to light after the Cyber Crime unit detained a suspect from Azamgarh, UP. The gang’s operations included the transfer of stolen funds into various bank accounts, primarily targeting the Neva Export Company’s account at Kalupur Co-operative Bank in Ahmedabad.
In the scam, the gang deactivated a registered mobile number and accessed the company’s net banking to make eight fraudulent transactions in a single day, amounting to Rs2.29 crore. During the probe, police discovered that Rs3 lakh had been transferred to an ICICI Bank account registered under Saurabh Yadav’s name. After arresting Yadav, it was revealed that he had met Karthik Singh Durgapratap Singh while imprisoned in Azamgarh in 2021. Post-release, Yadav opened a bank account for Singh, which was later misused for fraudulent transactions.
Further investigation into the case revealed the gang’s strategy: hacking company emails to obtain net banking credentials, then sending malware to steal the SIM card details. Once the SIM was deactivated, the fraudsters accessed the bank account, executing fraudulent transactions. The gang strategically committed the fraud on weekends to avoid OTPs or messages, ensuring their actions went undetected until it was too late.