The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Unit has arrested three persons allegedly responsible for a scheme involving the theft of a mobile phone from a 68-year-old passenger and subsequent unauthorised transactions totalling over Rs 1.95 lakh from his bank account.
The arrested accused have been identified as Mohammed Moin Uddin, a 31-year-old auto driver, Mohammed Syed Salman alias Sultan, a 21-year-old car driver, and Mohammed Hussain, a 32-year-old vegetable vendor.
The case was registered after a senior citizen approached the Cyber Crimes Unit with a complaint, saying that on September 17, he lost his phone while travelling in a shared auto-rickshaw from Uppal to Tarnaka.
After blocking his SIM and obtaining a new one the next day, the victim discovered on September 20 that Rs 1,95,001 had been fraudulently debited from his Union Bank of India account. A case was immediately registered under relevant sections of the IT Act and BNS (Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita).
The investigation revealed a planned operation executed by the three accused.
Moin Uddin picked up the complainant at Uppal. Along with Syed Salman, he persuaded the victim to transfer a small amount via PhonePe, prompting the complainant to unlock his mobile phone in their presence.
While the transfer was happening, Uddin stole the mobile phone while Salman distracted the victim, after which they dropped him.
Immediately after the theft, Uddin and Salman drove to the Medchal-Malkajgiri limits and began unauthorised transfers from the victim's account. They used the PhonePe application on the stolen mobile to scan QR codes at petrol pumps and various shops, collecting the amount in cash.
There was even money laundering that happened through a gaming platform. On September 20, Uddin and Salman roped in Mohammed Hussain, who used the stolen funds to transfer Rs 90,000 in multiple transactions to bank accounts linked to a gaming platform before withdrawing the amount through his personal Federal Bank account.
The total fraudulent sum of Rs 1,95,000 was then split among the three accused.
The police have seized three mobile phones related to the crime.
In light of the incident, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Cyber Crime, Hyderabad, issued a public advisory urging citizens to exercise extreme caution, particularly when using shared public transport and digital payment services.
The advisory emphasised verification in shared autos, saying passengers should note the vehicle's number, colour, and driver's details and avoid entering the vehicle if they feel suspicious about the occupants.
Victims of cybercrime or financial fraud are urged to dial 1930 or report online at https://cybercrime.gov.in/.
