Cyber Police bust major mule account network in Kashmir

The Cyber Police Station in Kashmir Zone, Srinagar, has busted a gang involved in using bank accounts to commit online fraud and financial crimes.

 

Since January 2025, the police have found 7,200 mule accounts active in the Kashmir Valley. These accounts were used to move large amounts of illegal money made through cyber scams.

 

So far, the police have arrested 21 people, 19 from Srinagar, as part of four ongoing investigations.

 

A mule account is a bank account used to receive and send illegal money to someone else, usually in return for a small payment. These accounts may be in the name of individuals, fake businesses, or small firms. Most of them are found through social media platforms like Telegram and Facebook.

 

Once someone agrees to give access to their account, scammers from outside Jammu and Kashmir — or even from other countries — take control of the account remotely.

 

These accounts are then linked to illegal online payment systems. Criminals use them to take money from people through fake investment websites, betting platforms, or bogus stock trading portals. 

 

The money is quickly split, moved to other accounts, or changed into cryptocurrency so that it cannot be easily tracked.

 

Scammers also misuse a bulk payment option provided by some banks, allowing them to send large sums quickly. 

 

These mule accounts are usually active for only a few days before being noticed by banks or flagged for suspicious activity. 

 

Still, in that short time, transactions worth crores of rupees can take place, said Senior Superintendent of Police Imtiyaz Hussain.

 

Hussain explained that local agents, known as handlers, are involved too. 

 

They often target people from poorer backgrounds, offering small commissions to use their bank accounts for fraud.

 

The Cyber Police received help from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (i4C), part of the Ministry of Home Affairs in Delhi. The Centre shared a list of the 7,200 mule accounts found in Kashmir. 

 

 

Police have also listed several areas where these accounts are being created. These include Mehjoor Nagar, Natipora, Nowgam, Lasjan, Padshahibagh, Nowhatta, Khanyar, Rainawari, Soura, Batmaloo, Noorbagh, Qamarwari, Parimpora, Mujgund, and Bemina. Similar cases have been reported in Ganderbal, Kangan, Sumbal, Bandipora, Baramulla, Pulwama, Anantnag, Kulgam and Shopian.

India