Hyderabad police expose hybrid pickpocketing and cyber fraud targeting elderly residents

Hyderabad City Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar has issued an alert about organised gangs who are blending street-level pickpocketing with advanced cyber fraud to drain bank accounts, with elderly residents and those unfamiliar with technology facing the highest risk.

The Cyber Crime wing has arrested three accused and recovered five mobile phones during investigations into the hybrid crime network.

How the gangs operate

The syndicates follow a calculated, multi-stage process. Gang members first stake out bus stands, railway stations, crowded RTC buses and other public spaces, watching elderly or unsuspecting victims use their smartphones and memorising the pattern, PIN or password they enter to unlock the screen. They then create a distraction and pickpocket the device.

When victims call their own lost number, a fraudster answers pretending to be a bus conductor or driver, claims the phone was found on the bus, and tricks them into revealing the screen-lock password under the guise of "verifying details" before returning it.

From stolen phone to empty account

With the phone unlocked, the criminals search the gallery, notes and messaging apps for photographs of debit or credit cards, Aadhaar, PAN cards and saved PINs. They then use the stolen SIM to receive one-time passwords, reset banking credentials and UPI PINs, and siphon off funds. The money is typically routed through gaming platforms, digital wallets and mule accounts to evade detection.

Police emphasised that the network deploys separate teams for each stage: spotting targets, stealing phones, extracting passwords, hacking banking apps, and laundering the proceeds through mule accounts.

What citizens must do

Authorities have urged residents never to share screen-lock PINs, passwords or OTPs with anyone, and never to store photographs of cards, CVVs, banking passwords or identity documents on their phones.

Anyone who loses a phone should immediately block the SIM card, freeze all banking and UPI services, register the device's IMEI number at www.ceir.gov.in, and report unauthorised transactions to the national cyber helpline 1930 or www.cybercrime.gov.in. Police have also appealed to younger family members to educate elderly relatives about this emerging threat.

Source: The Hindu