Police in Bulandshahr district have launched an investigation after uncovering a cyber fraud money trail routed through two bank accounts in the Anupshahr area. Technical analysis conducted through the Government of India’s National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal and the Samanvay platform, also known as JMIS, identified both accounts as having allegedly received, transferred and withdrawn cyber fraud proceeds.
Two Accounts, Complaints From Multiple States
The first account, held at a Yes Bank branch in Anupshahr, is reportedly registered in the name of Ajay Rai, a resident of Chhatarpur in Madhya Pradesh. It has been linked to a complaint filed by a resident of Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, who alleged ₹10,000 was fraudulently obtained through a phone impersonation scam. Preliminary findings indicate the mobile number tied to the account was also allegedly used in cybercrime activity, and police are now examining the account-opening documents for irregularities.
The second account, at the State Bank of India’s Jirouli branch, is registered in the name of Saurabh Kumar, a resident of Dibai in Bulandshahr. Investigators say this account has surfaced in cyber fraud complaints from multiple states, including both Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, involving online financial fraud and fraudulent digital payment transactions. Technical analysis found both accounts recorded large volumes of suspicious UPI transactions within short windows of time, a pattern consistent with mule accounts used to receive and rapidly disperse fraud proceeds before detection.
A Pattern Banks Themselves Have Long Warned About
The Anupshahr case fits a mule account template that has become disturbingly routine across Uttar Pradesh in recent months, with similar cross-state financial trails uncovered in Etah, Kanpur, Gonda and Ghazipur through comparable NCRP and Samanvay analysis. State Bank of India’s own cybersecurity advisory has warned customers for years that individuals with genuine bank accounts are frequently recruited, often through spam emails, fake job postings or social media outreach, to receive transfers and forward the funds onward in exchange for a commission, only to have their accounts frozen and face prosecution once the fraud is traced back to them.
The problem extends well beyond individual account holders. A separate ongoing probe out of Rajkot, dubbed Operation Mule Hunt, has expanded to suspicious transactions exceeding ₹2,500 crore and led to the arrest of bank officials from Yes Bank, Axis Bank and HDFC Bank, accused of opening fraudulent accounts and disabling fraud alerts from within the banking system itself, a reminder that mule networks sometimes rely on insider cooperation rather than just unwitting or willing account holders.
Police in Bulandshahr are now analysing the complete transaction history of both accounts, along with beneficiary details, mobile numbers, KYC documents, IP logs and UPI records, to determine whether they were operated independently or as part of a larger organised syndicate. Prof. Triveni Singh, the former IPS officer and cybercrime specialist, said cybercriminals increasingly rely on mule accounts, forged KYC credentials and digital payment networks to move fraudulent funds rapidly across multiple accounts, complicating investigations considerably. He said banking analysis, digital forensics and coordination among law enforcement agencies across states remain critical to tracing financial trails and dismantling such networks. Police have registered a cybercrime case and said further legal action will follow based on the technical and digital evidence gathered, with the investigation continuing to determine the full scope of the network involved.
