Mumbai Police Bust International OTP Farming Racket, Three Arrested

Mumbai Police have busted an international cybercrime syndicate allegedly involved in “OTP farming”, through which Indian WhatsApp numbers were supplied to foreign fraudsters, an official said on Thursday.

The operation was carried out by the Western Region Cyber Police of the Mumbai Crime Branch, which arrested three people and seized 669 active SIM cards and 100 mobile handsets.

The accused were identified as Pramod Kumar alias Bipin, Dharmendra Gupta and Rajiv Kumar Gupta.

According to police, the syndicate provided Indian WhatsApp numbers to Cambodia-based cybercriminals who allegedly targeted Indian citizens through stock market investment frauds.

The racket came to light after a person was allegedly cheated of Rs 22.30 lakh. The fraudsters had contacted the victim on WhatsApp while posing as representatives of a reputed investment firm and lured him with promises of high returns.

Police said Rajiv Gupta, a Point of Sale (POS) agent, allegedly activated SIM cards using the documents of unsuspecting individuals without their knowledge. He then passed the SIM cards to Pramod Kumar through Dharmendra Gupta in return for a commission.

Pramod allegedly inserted the SIM cards into basic keypad handsets to operate an “OTP farming” setup. Verification OTPs generated while creating Indian WhatsApp accounts were allegedly sold to Cambodia-based handlers through Telegram for USD 13 per OTP in cryptocurrency.

The foreign handlers allegedly used these Indian WhatsApp numbers to contact prospective victims and carry out fraudulent activities. Police said the proceeds were subsequently routed through rented mule bank accounts.

During the operation, investigators seized 91 keypad phones, nine smartphones, 669 active SIM cards, a CPU, Wi-Fi router, fingerprint scanner and other accessories.

Police are conducting a further investigation to trace other links in the alleged international network and identify additional victims.