From SIM Cards to Mule Accounts: The Cyber Fraud Trail Emerging in Bidhannagar

A fresh cybercrime investigation in Bidhannagar has brought the spotlight back to a less visible part of online fraud ; the procurement of mobile connections used to contact victims and move money. Investigators have reportedly identified 414 SIM cards used in cyber-fraud cases that were purchased in the Bidhannagar area, while an analysis of complaints lodged on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal has pointed to more than ₹675 crore in alleged cyber-fraud losses between January and August 15, 2026. The findings have prompted Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police to investigate whether the numbers are connected to an organised network rather than isolated fraud cases. 

The financial trail is particularly large. Police analysis reportedly identified more than 1.72 lakh first-layer beneficiary accounts linked to the complaints examined in the investigation. These are accounts that allegedly received money directly from victims before the funds could be moved through subsequent layers. Such accounts are commonly referred to as mule accounts when they are controlled or operated on behalf of others to receive and transfer illicit funds. Investigators are now examining the movement of money beyond these first accounts to determine who ultimately controlled the proceeds. The cases being examined reportedly include investment scams and so-called “digital arrest” frauds, in which victims are falsely told that they are under investigation and pressured into transferring money. 

The SIM-card trail has added another dimension to the probe. Investigators are looking into how hundreds of mobile connections purchased in the Bidhannagar area came to be associated with cyber-fraud complaints and whether the subscriber details used to obtain them were genuine. The issue is significant because West Bengal police have previously uncovered SIM-card rackets in which connections were allegedly issued using improper or fraudulent documentation. In January 2025, Bidhannagar Police said they had busted a separate racket in Kolkata and Bidhannagar involving the issuance of SIM cards without proper documentation; nine people were arrested in that case. Police had then said the gang collected customers’ details during applications and exploited the process to generate additional SIM connections. 

The latest investigation has now resulted in an FIR at Bidhannagar Cyber Crime Police Station, with investigators examining the people behind the identified numbers and financial accounts. The crucial question is whether the 414 SIM cards form part of a single coordinated operation or represent several unrelated fraud networks that happened to obtain their connections from the same locality. That distinction has not yet been publicly established, and the available findings should therefore not be interpreted as proof that all the reported ₹675 crore in fraud originated from Salt Lake or that one gang was responsible for the entire amount. 

The comparison with Jamtara has nevertheless gained attention because of the apparent combination of communication infrastructure, financial channels and multiple fraud complaints. Jamtara in Jharkhand has become synonymous with organised phishing and online scams, but calling Bidhannagar a new “Jamtara” at this stage would be premature. The investigation currently points to a significant pattern requiring further investigation, rather than an official designation of Salt Lake or Bidhannagar as a cybercrime hub. 

The latest findings also sit against a broader record of cybercrime investigations in the Bidhannagar area. The commissionerate has a dedicated Cyber Crime Police Station, and West Bengal’s Cyber Crime Wing officially lists it among the state’s specialised cybercrime units. Previous cases have included alleged fake call centres and financial-fraud networks operating from the Salt Lake-Sector V commercial belt, showing that the area has already figured in investigations into organised online fraud. A recent case in March 2026, for instance, involved two Bidhannagar cyber-fraud complaints with combined reported losses of more than ₹18 lakh, with police probing an online task scam and a bank-impersonation fraud.

What makes the current case different is the scale of the data being examined. Instead of beginning with a single victim and tracing one transaction, investigators are reportedly analysing a much larger pool of cybercrime complaints, beneficiary accounts and mobile numbers. The 414 SIM cards could potentially provide investigators with a route to connect apparently separate cases through common subscriber details, retailers, devices or transaction trails.

For now, however, the investigation remains underway. Police have yet to publicly establish that the SIM cards, beneficiary accounts and the reported ₹675-crore fraud figure all belong to one network. The immediate focus is on tracing the identities behind the mobile connections, following the money beyond the first-layer accounts and determining whether a coordinated operation was using the Salt Lake–Bidhannagar area as part of its infrastructure. The findings could reveal whether the locality is merely appearing repeatedly in the cybercrime trail, or whether a more organised network has actually taken root close to Kolkata.