7.2k accounts linked to cyber fraud busted, 21 held in Kashmir: Police

In a major revelation, the Jammu and Kashmir cyber police has unearthed the formation of 7,200 mule bank accounts in Kashmir this year so far involved in cyber frauds to launder crores of money via fake investment sites and betting scams and arrested 21 people so far.

The police said that the mule accounts rented via telegram or facebook, controlled from abroad and active for a few days, are used to funnel money via crypto and layering.

Srinagar senior superintendent of police (SSP) Imtiyaz Hussain said that they unearthed the network during their recent investigations.

“Recently Srinagar police have unearthed a big network of cyber frauds. What we have seen is a large-scale opening of mule accounts. Within a very small window, that money reaches the fraudsters,” he said.

A mule account is an account opened by any person at the behest of a cyber fraudster in lieu of a commission which remains active for a couple of days and money of victims of cyber frauds goes into that account.

“Our investigations have revealed that all over Kashmir, 7,200 such mule accounts have been created this year since January 01, 2025. This has come to our knowledge so far and there can be more as well,” he said.

The SSP said that these mule accounts are primary accounts. “When the money of any victim is lost through online gaming, fishing activities or identity theft or any other cyber fraud, the money goes to these mule accounts,” he said.

The police investigation revealed that the fraudsters approach people to open these accounts for a few days in lieu of commission.

“This is a big crime and so far we have lodged four FIRs and arrested 21 people, 19 from Srinagar, whom we are sending to jails,” he said.

The SSP said that all the 7,200 people will be picked up and interrogated.

“Since it is a very huge network, it will take some time for investigation. Everybody will be brought to book. So far 21 persons are in jail. Every one of these 7200 people will be picked up and thoroughly interrogated,” he said.

The police said that Srinagar city, some other areas of Kashmir and even Jammu have become major centers and hotspots for such frauds.

While revealing the modus operandi of the fraudsters, the SSP said that many Indians from here have been lured to countries like Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand or Philippines.

“And then from there the cyber frauds are conducted. When people take to social media and respond to misleading ads on social media, these cyber frauds are done. Recently some 11 people from J&K including a girl were brought back,” he said.

The police cautioned people against opening mule accounts. “I want to caution that whosoever has opened mule accounts or has received money from cyber fraud, it shall have strict legal consequences. The minimum punishment for cyber fraud is 10 years,” he said.

“The unearthing of these 7200 accounts, we got a lot of help from cyber crime coordination centre, I4C, ministry of home affairs, New Delhi,” the SSP said.