MP: Cops arrest member of gang duping bank customers on KYC update pretext

With the arrest of a man hailing from Jharkhand, police on Thursday claimed to have busted a gang that allegedly duped customers of a public sector bank on the pretext of updating their KYC details. The accused, identified as Harish Das, is a resident of Dhanbad in Jharkhand, Cyber Cell Superintendent of Police Jitendra Singh said.

Das was arrested based on a complaint lodged by a woman professor of a government college, he said, adding that the accused is one of the key members of the gang.

Das manipulated two State Bank of India (SBI) accounts of the victim and transferred Rs 33.42 lakh to other accounts and different payment wallets last year. The gang used to send text messages to hundreds of SBI customers on their registered mobile phones, which read that if they do not update their Know Your Customer (KYC) immediately, their accounts would be frozen, he said.

Talking about the gang’s modus operandi, Singh said the trapped SBI customers contact the number from which text messages are delivered to them. After being called, the gang members ask the customers to provide OTPs and then prepare Internet banking accounts with login ID and password. After that they siphon off money from their accounts, the SP said.

In-depth investigation into the operation of the gang from Jharkhand is on, he added.