Man accused of handing over bank account to online racket arrested

A man accused of abetting a racket involved in online cheating by allegedly providing his bank account credentials, which was used to defraud a person of ₹47 lakhs through a job scam, was arrested by the Muvattupuzha police.

Mansoor Ali, 35, was nabbed from his native place in Malappuram. The arrest was on a petition lodged by a person from Thrikkalathoor who fell victim to the alleged fraud carried out via the social media platform Telegram. The racket reportedly promised him additional income through an online job.

He was reportedly promised a huge commission for completing each of the 18 levels of a bidding game. He sent ₹47 lakhs through various levels of the game, but when he asked for his promised commission, he was allegedly asked to cough up more money. He turned suspicious and lodged a petition.

According to the police, the arrested had handed over his bank account to the racket, which used it to carry out transactions worth lakhs. They said that the arrangement of operating bank accounts through proxies was rampant and and the search was ongoing for others involved in the alleged fraud.

“Giving operational rights of bank accounts to third parties is a serious offence,” said District Police Chief (Ernakulam Rural) Vaibhav Saxena. He also urged people to be cautious about messages promising online jobs. An investigation was under way on similar complaints, he added.