200 Phishing Emails, Money from 4 Accounts to 115, and 938 ATMS: How Hyd Bank Lost Rs 12.48 Crore

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posted on 2 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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The criminals used proxy IPs to steal from AP Mahesh Co-Operative Urban Bank Ltd. One IP shows Switzerland as its location and the other shows Canada, said police. A total of 23 people, including four Nigerians, have been arrested

The arrest of 23 people for swindling Rs.12.48 crore from AP Mahesh Co-Operative Urban Bank Ltd has brought forth the elaborate mechanism used for the fraud — from 200 phishing emails, to transfer of money from four bank accounts to 115, followed by withdrawals at 938 ATM kiosks.

CV Anand, police commissioner, Hyderabad city, said, “On January 23, the server of Mahesh Bank was hacked and the balances in four different accounts to the tune of Rs 12.48 crore were altered and transferred to 115 different accounts. From there, the money was transferred to another 938 accounts.

The cybercrime police of Hyderabad responded immediately and succeeded in freezing Rs 2.08 crore before ATM withdrawals and Rs 1.08 crore was refunded/returned to the AP Mahesh Co-op Urban Bank owing to incorrect beneficiary details.

Police found that most beneficiary accounts were in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, and Northeastern states, etc. The money was later withdrawn from 938 ATMs all over India.

“The cyber fraudsters sent 200 phishing e-mails to the bank employees in November 2021. The hackers entered the bank server after two of the bank employees clicked on the links. There are many errors in the bank’s server and the firewalls are not foolproof,” he said.

Anand said the bank management had not upgraded their server security to prevent extra burden on maintenance.

The criminals had opened their accounts two months before the hacking. “The criminals used proxy IPs. One IP shows Switzerland as its location and the other shows Canada. A total of 23 people, including four Nigerians, have been arrested,” he said.

Anand said Ikpa Stephen Orji and another Nigerian national who uses the alias Capital were in Hyderabad when the server was hacked. Stephen Orgi, a key suspect in the case, has been arrested.

“We will try to issue a Red Corner Notice for the others who may still be in Nigeria,” said CV Anand.

Anand said Rs 58 lakh were spent on the probe.

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