Chennai | In a shocking case of cyber fraud from Tamil Nadu, a 67-year-old pensioner allegedly lost ₹14.65 lakh from his bank account without receiving any OTP authentication or transaction alert. Following an investigation, the Avadi Cyber Crime Wing arrested three men from Telangana who were allegedly providing bank accounts to online fraudsters in exchange for commission money.
The victim, identified as Natarajan, a resident of Poonamallee, filed a complaint stating that pension funds deposited in his Ujjivan Small Finance Bank account were suddenly transferred to two different bank accounts without his knowledge. What alarmed investigators most was the claim that no OTP or banking alert was received during the transactions.
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After registering the complaint, the Avadi Cyber Crime Wing launched a technical investigation involving digital transaction trails, banking records and beneficiary account analysis. During the probe, investigators found that the recipient accounts were linked to individuals based in Telangana.
Acting on the findings, police arrested Jangam Naveen Kumar (28), Kotta Bhanu Prasad (33) and Kattam Raghavendra (34), all residents of Telangana. According to investigators, the trio had opened bank accounts in their own names and later handed them over to cyber fraudsters for illegal transactions. In return, they allegedly received commission payments.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that such accounts are commonly used as “mule accounts” in cybercrime operations. Fraudsters route stolen money through multiple accounts within minutes to make it difficult for agencies to trace the final beneficiaries or identify the masterminds behind the scam. Investigators are now trying to determine whether the network is linked to similar fraud cases in other States as well.
Cybersecurity experts say incidents involving fraudulent “beneficiary addition” to bank accounts have increased sharply in recent months. In many such cases, criminals allegedly gain access to banking systems through SIM swapping, mobile number cloning, remote-access applications or exploitation of digital banking vulnerabilities.
Investigators also suspect that organised cybercrime syndicates increasingly rely on individuals willing to rent out bank accounts for quick money. Such accounts are often obtained from unemployed youth or financially vulnerable people who may initially believe they are participating in legitimate financial activities.
Renowned cybercrime expert and former IPS officer Prof. Triveni Singh said cybercriminals are now operating through large-scale “financial social engineering networks” rather than depending solely on technical hacking methods. According to him, people who provide bank accounts for illegal transactions are equally responsible for cyber fraud because such accounts play a crucial role in laundering stolen money.
Officials have advised bank customers, especially senior citizens, to regularly monitor their account activity, keep their registered mobile numbers updated and immediately report any unauthorised transaction to their bank and the national cybercrime helpline 1930.
The arrested accused were produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody. Investigators are now probing the larger network behind the fraud, including possible links to organised money laundering operations and interstate cybercrime syndicates.
