Over 500 Wayanad people in trouble after outsiders exploit their bank accounts

Wayanad: Over 500 people, mostly young men and women, have fallen prey to the "mule account" scam in Kerala's hill district of Wayanad, cyber police sources said here on Tuesday.

According to investigators, fraudsters from outside the district rented local residents' bank accounts for money and then misused them for illicit transactions and other illegal activities.

Several account holders in Wayanad are now facing cases registered in different states in northern and north-eastern India.

At least six people facing such cases are residents within the Kambalakkad police station limits. One of them has already been arrested by Nagaland police and taken to Kohima, a cyber police source told PTI.

"Twenty-seven-year-old Ismayil was arrested and taken to Nagaland. Muhammed Fanish (28), another youth, was served notice by Dehradun police in a similar case involving a transaction of Rs 58,000 through his account," the sources said.

A case was also registered against Salmath, a local woman, by Lucknow police after her younger brother shared her bank account details with fraudsters, who then used it for a scam.

Wayanad Cyber Police said more than 500 young people in the district had fallen into trouble by renting out their bank accounts for quick money.

Fraudsters were reportedly paying between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 per account. But once fraud-related cases were registered, it was the account holders who were left to face police action.

Similar incidents have been reported in the neighbouring districts of Kozhikode and Malappuram, police added.

A family member of Ismayil said he was taken into custody by Nagaland police eight days ago and that there has been no update since.

"We don't know anything about his money transactions. Police told us that illegal transactions of Rs 12 lakhs had happened through his account. We have no money to secure his bail. We have no idea what to do," the elderly man told PTI.

A young man from Kambalakkad said middlemen were active in Wayanad, approaching locals with offers to buy or rent their bank accounts at high prices.

"They would offer money and collect our bank account number, other details and OTP. We only realise it's a trap when the police come knocking at our door," he said.