Cyber Criminals Use High-limit Credit Cards to Launder cybercrime proceeds, new money layering method exposed

29 May 2026 | Mumbai, India

In the past, cyber criminals transferred stolen money into “mule” bank accounts. But if victims complained fast by calling 1930, the money would get blocked. Withdrawing large amounts from ATMs also left traces through CCTV, and online purchases could be cancelled.

Now, the criminals have found a new way. They search for people who have very high dues on their credit cards. They contact these people, offer them a commission, and use the fraud money to clear the credit card bills. Once the bill is paid, the card holder gives the same amount in cash to the criminals, keeping a small commission for themselves. This way, the stolen money quickly turns into clean cash, and it becomes very difficult for victims to stop the transaction even in the “golden hour” after the fraud.

The case was registered at Cuffe Parade Police Station, Mumbai on 23 February 2026. The victim lost Rs 5,44,827. The fraudsters called the victim pretending to be from Mahanagar Gas Agency. They sent a file named “GasBill Update.apk” on WhatsApp and convinced the victim to install the APK file on his phone.

Once installed, the criminals got full unauthorised access to the victim’s mobile. They stole sensitive details of:

• HDFC Credit Card
• ICICI Credit Card
• Axis Bank Debit Card
• IndusInd Bank Debit Card

Using these details, the fraudsters transferred a total of Rs 5,44,827 from the victim’s accounts to different places. They transferred the money to different places. During investigation, police found that the stolen money was used to pay off pending credit card bills of several people, including Vicky Thakkar and Shubham Kumar Shaw. Police contacted the credit card companies, traced these people, and followed the leads.

Arrests

On 18 May 2026, Mumbai Police arrested two men:

1. Govind Shyamlal Mandal, 42 years old, from Badki Chidri, Jarkunda, Konardam, Bokaro, Jharkhand. He received cash from the credit card holders.
2. Madan Jaylal Sav alias Sahu, 40 years old, from the same village in Bokaro, Jharkhand.

Both accused are now in judicial custody. Police also recovered mobile phones from them that contained photos of many credit cards, transaction chats, audio clips, and other evidence. Two more people, Pradeep Mandal and Dinesh Mandal from Jamtara, Jharkhand, have been named as wanted accused along with their associates.

Investigation Team

The case was cracked by a team led by Senior Police Inspector Satish Gaikwad of Cuffe Parade Police Station, under the guidance of senior officers including Deputy Commissioner Manish Kalwaniya.

Investigation Officers

• M.P.O. Ashwini Patil
• S.P.O. Amit Devkar
• P.O. Rupesh Kumar Bhagwat
• And other staff: Anil Udage, Wasim Sheikh, Amar Deshmukh, Sachin Patil

Suggestions for Card Companies

Transaction monitoring systems of credit card may be strengthened, keeping in mind this new technique of fraud proceeds. "Source" of bill payment may be verified before processing with the bill payment. If repayments are made from same IP or sources, alert mechanism may be implemented to counter this scam.