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A ten-day coordinated drive across 14 districts traced mule accounts linked to fake investment and reward-point scams.
Maharashtra Cyber has frozen ₹4.2 crore held in more than 900 bank accounts during a ten-day drive against payment fraud timed to the festive shopping season. The accounts were identified from complaints filed on the 1930 helpline and the national cybercrime reporting portal.
Investigators found that most victims were contacted through messaging apps with offers of guaranteed returns on small investments or bonus reward points that required a verification payment. Funds were rapidly layered through mule accounts opened using rented documents.
The department has urged citizens to report fraud within the first hour, when the chance of freezing a transfer is highest, and to never share one-time passwords or install screen-sharing applications at a caller's request.