Cybercrimes: 4.5 lakh ‘mule’ accounts frozen, many in public sector banks

News: The Union Government has frozen around 4.5 lakh mule bank accounts to curb cybercrimes. In a recent meeting, officials of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) have conveyed to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) how fraudsters withdraw money from these mule accounts.

1. Mule Bank Accounts: These accounts are used to channel stolen or illicit funds without the account holder’s knowledge.

2. They are used to receive fraudulent money transfers, for laundering money and carrying out cross-border money transfers.

3. Major types of money mules are: A) Victim mule B) Deceiver mule C) Peddler mule D) Accomplice mule E) Opportunist mule

4. Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C): It was set up by Ministry of Home Affairs in 2020.

5. Its primary objective is to enhance coordination between law enforcement agencies in investigation, prevention and response to cybercrimes.

6. Key components of the I4C are: National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, National Cybercrime Threat Analysis Unit, National Cybercrime Training Centre, National Cybercrime Research and Innovation Centre etc.

7. Some of the initiatives launched by I4C are: Citizen Financial Cyber Fraud Reporting and Management System, CyberDost, Cyber Suspect Registry, Cyber Commandos Programme.