The Cyber Police of the North Region Division has busted a new method of online fraud where scammers used the pretext of holiday tour packages to gather victims’ bank account details. Two individuals, identified as Mookbashir Hidayatullah Rahat Kikar and Suraj Khedkar, have been arrested in connection with the case. Police said both accused were in contact with international cyber fraudsters and provided them with access to Indian bank accounts.
The complainant in this case is a resident of North Mumbai who was recently defrauded of approximately ₹20 lakh through an online investment scam. The fraudsters, posing as representatives of a share trading firm, tricked the victim into sharing their bank details. A case was registered under relevant sections of the IT Act and IPC, following which a probe was initiated by the Cyber Cell.
During the investigation, police tracked the money trail and found that the defrauded amount had been transferred to multiple bank accounts. Two of these accounts were found to be opened in the names of Mookbashir and Suraj. The duo was picked up for questioning from Katraj and Ahilyanagar in Pune.
Further investigation revealed that Mookbashir, based in Mahabaleshwar, was luring people with offers of 2–3 day free holiday packages at popular resorts in Pune and Mahabaleshwar. Under the guise of booking these packages, he collected bank account details from unsuspecting victims and misused the data for online frauds. Several people are believed to have fallen for the trap.
According to police, this gang was paying commissions to individuals to open new bank accounts, which were then handed over to cyber criminals operating from abroad. These accounts were used as conduits for transferring fraudulently obtained money. The key international fraudster involved is reportedly based in Cambodia, and Mookbashir was in direct contact with him. He allegedly withdrew cash from these accounts and remitted it abroad with the help of his accomplice Suraj Khedkar. Both earned hefty commissions for facilitating the process.
Police also discovered that the accused would house account holders together under one roof to collect their documents and account access, which were later exploited for fraudulent transactions.
Following their arrest, both accused were produced before the court, where they were initially remanded to police custody.