How a crypto scam network is recruiting Lucknow's youth as ‘mules’

A new police investigation has revealed that dozens of young people in Lucknow, including students and low-wage workers, are being lured into a sophisticated international cyber fraud network by "renting out" their bank accounts for a quick commission. These "mule accounts" are being used to launder money from scams and funnel it into cryptocurrency, with handlers operating from Southeast Asia.

Police investigations by the Crime Branch and Cyber Cell over the last three months have uncovered a growing nexus that connects young people in localities across Lucknow, from Old Lucknow's Chowk to newer suburbs like Sushant Golf City, to handlers in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

How the network operates

According to police, the operation is coordinated through encrypted Telegram channels run by Chinese handlers. Local recruiters in Lucknow offer commissions of ₹10,000 to ₹30,000 to young people who agree to lend their bank accounts. On transaction days, large sums of money from cybercrimes --including online investment, fake job schemes, and sextortion -- are transferred into these accounts. The mule account holders are then escorted to banks to withdraw the cash, which is handed over to crypto brokers.

The brokers convert the illicit funds into cryptocurrency, primarily USDT (Tether), using unregulated, non-KYC peer-to-peer networks on the TRC-20 blockchain. This process effectively makes the money untraceable and allows it to be sent abroad, beyond the jurisdiction of Indian law enforcement.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Lucknow South), Rallapalli Vasanth Kumar, who has been involved in busting several of these gangs, told PTI: "These young people aren't hardened criminals, but their actions enable large-scale fraud. Several youth have confessed regret, admitting they underestimated the legal risks."

‘I thought it was just extra cash’

The police have noted an alarming concentration of these mule accounts in Lucknow, leading them to question around 60 young men who were found to be the actual holders of accounts used in scams involving crores of rupees. The police also noted that this phenomenon is linked to cyber slavery rackets in Southeast Asia, where thousands of Indians are trafficked and forced to work in scam factories.

In response to the growing threat, the Uttar Pradesh Police and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) have launched a joint action plan. At a high-level meeting on August 6, officials agreed to set up a dedicated Cyber Crime Centre and deploy trained personnel to identify fraud hotspots. On August 8, DGP Rajeev Krishna directed police chiefs of all 75 districts to ensure cyber cells are manned by trained officers and to maximize the use of the NCRP portal.

One such mule account holder, a 24-year-old waiter named Ajay, is now an approver in a police investigation. After a large sum of money was routed through his account for a day, police came knocking on his door. "I thought it was just extra cash," he said. "Now I know it was crime - and I'm lucky I got a second chance."