Mumbai debit card fraud: Accused used Russian instant messaging service to evade cops

Demonetisation, Cash ban, Credit card usage, Debit card, online transactions, Online payment, RBI, Business news, Indian Express

Mumbai police investigating fraud cases involving the use of debit cards of foreign nationals has learnt that the six arrested accused used a messaging app to communicate among themselves and stay under the radar of investigating agencies.

Police officers said that it was not the first time that accused involved in card frauds have been found using ‘ICQ’ — an instant messaging app owned by a Russian company. According to the police, the accused communicated through the app as it uses a proxy-based channel that makes it difficult to trace those involved in a chat. The police learnt about the use of ICQ while questioning R Manoj Kumar (43), the alleged master mind of the racket.

Last month, the property cell of the Crime Branch had busted a racket, allegedly being operated by five people who duped foreign nationals of at least Rs 30 crore by stealing their bank data and cloning their debit cards. On July 12, the police arrested Kumar as he got off a flight from Malaysia at an airport in Chennai. During questioning, the police learnt that Kumar was in touch with the five other accused, arrested from the city, using ICQ.

“Kumar only communicated with them through ICQ. The app is high on privacy and uses a proxy-based channel. As a result, even if the law enforcement agencies get access to their mobile phones, the identity of those involved in the chat remains hidden. In similar cases in the past, we have found the accused using the app,” an officer said. Cyber expert Vicky Shah said: “The ICQ app has been around for a long time. It has security features that make it difficult to track the user. Also, law enforcement agencies would find it difficult to get data from them.”

During Kumar’s questioning, the police also found that he completed a Bachelors in Business Administration course, then moved to Malaysia and worked in a call centre.

“While working there, he came in touch with a few people who would put skimming devices at shopping malls frequented by foreign nationals and steal data. They would send the card data to India through Kumar, who frequently travelled from Malaysia to Chennai,” the officer said.

The officer added that the accused would sort the cards based on the countries of the users. The cards of those from the middle-east were in high demand, as those usually have a high credit limit.

“While stolen details of cards of those from the middle east were sold for Rs 25,000 per card, details of US card holders were sold for Rs 1,700, as they had low credit limits,” the officer said.