Jharsuguda: Police have arrested 15 persons in Jharsuguda district for their alleged involvement in organised online financial fraud. Police have detected suspicious transactions exceeding Rs 5.27 crore during a multi-police station operation, including Jharsuguda, Jharsuguda Sadar, Airport, Badmal, Belpahar and Lakhanpur.Police said a dedicated cyber team analysed data on mule bank accounts, cheque withdrawals and ATM transactions sourced from the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal (NCRP) and Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). Technical surveillance, digital tracking and field verification led to coordinated arrests across different police station limits.Jharsuguda SP, G R Raghavendra, said the accused were part of an organised syndicate that lured individuals with monetary incentives to open bank accounts in their names. “After opening the accounts, the fraudsters took custody of passbooks, ATM cards and SIM cards. These were used as ‘mule accounts’ to receive and withdraw money siphoned from cyber fraud victims across India, thereby concealing the identity of masterminds,” he said.He urged citizens to stay alert and advised people not to “rent” their bank accounts, ATM cards or UPI IDs for money, as this can make them part of a crime. He also asked people to be careful while sharing Aadhaar or PAN card details and to report any unknown or suspicious money credited to their accounts immediately to the bank and police. Victims of cyber fraud should call the national helpline (1930) or lodge a complaint at www.cybercrime.gov.in without delay to help authorities freeze the stolen funds.
