Mumbai Police Bust Assam Gang in ₹1.26 Crore Credit Card Fraud

GUWAHATI: The Mumbai Crime Branch has arrested five individuals from Assam who were allegedly involved in a sophisticated credit card scam. The gang reportedly used documents of individuals with high CIBIL scores to fraudulently obtain credit cards from a bank and then utilized these cards up to their maximum limits.

The case dates back to last year when an FIR was registered in Mumbai after the gang procured credit cards using the documents of 55 unsuspecting individuals.

They managed to withdraw a total of ₹1.26 crore using the cards. Acting on technical intelligence, the crime branch tracked down the accused in Morigaon, a town about 77 kilometers from Guwahati, Assam, and arrested them on Thursday.

According to Senior Inspector Sadanand Yernekar of Crime Branch Unit III, the accused used forged documents to apply for 55 credit cards, which they used to make large purchases.

When payments were not made, the bank's attempts to contact the cardholders revealed that the submitted documents were fake, leading to the registration of an FIR.

The crime branch launched an in-depth investigation, tracing various financial transactions that eventually led them to Morigaon. Officers found that the gang operated in a highly organized manner. One member would identify individuals with high CIBIL scores online, as such profiles would be easily eligible for credit card approvals.

After selecting potential targets, the gang would forge a PAN card in the individual's name. An accomplice running an Aadhaar card center in Assam would then use the fake PAN to create a matching Aadhaar card. Another gang member would use these counterfeit documents to apply for credit cards, and in some instances, even loans.

To receive the credit cards, a different member of the gang would travel to Mumbai or Delhi, providing the fake address mentioned on the application. Once the cards were collected, they would be handed over to others in the group, who would quickly exhaust the card limits before abandoning them. It was only when the banks tried to recover dues that the fraud came to light.

An investigating officer revealed that Morigaon has, over the past few years, become a hotspot for cyber crimes in the Northeast, with several gangs specializing in banking and financial frauds of this nature.

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