Surat man held for lending bank account to cyber frauds for duping Malad bizman

He provided his bank account details to the fraudsters, enabling them to route and withdraw the stolen money, the police said

MUMBAI: A 25-year-old man from Surat has been arrested for allegedly facilitating a cyber fraud in which ₹21 lakh was siphoned off from a city businessman and his wife through a malicious file sent under the guise of a traffic e-challan. He provided his bank account details to the fraudsters, enabling them to route and withdraw the stolen money, the police said.

Surat man held for lending bank account to cyber frauds for duping Malad bizman

The accused, identified as Hardik Ashokbhai Borda, was brought to the city and produced before a court in Borivali, which remanded him in police custody. The police said that the involvement of at least four others has surfaced and efforts are on to trace them.

According to the police, the complainant, Bhaven Shah, who runs a business with his brother, visited his bank on December 1 to update his and his wife Hetal Shah’s passbooks. He then noticed that ₹11,33,880 was debited from his account and ₹10,39,326 from his wife’s account without their knowledge. He then approached the bank manager, seeking help in the matter. On reviewing the accounts, it was revealed that multiple unauthorised online transactions were carried out, with funds transferred to several accounts. Shah subsequently approached the police on December 2, following which an FIR was registered.

The police’s investigation has revealed that on November 17, the couple had received an APK file on their mobile phones from an unknown sender. They had opened the file while attending a wedding in Ahmedabad but did not pursue it further. The file was a fake traffic e-challan, which allegedly allowed the fraudsters to gain access to their bank accounts linked to the phones.

Senior police inspector Kiran Aher said the probe revealed that the stolen money was routed to eight bank accounts, all held by Surat residents. “A police team was sent to the city, where it was found that a large portion of the money had been credited to a joint account held by Borda and another man, Milan Barot. Borda had opened the account and shared its details with the accused, after which the funds were withdrawn in cash,” Aher said.

Subsequently, the police arrested Borda from Kiran Chowk in Surat and seized a mobile phone and two SIM cards from him. Nearly ₹9 lakh of the defrauded amount had been credited to his bank account, police said.