Kochi: A day after Operation Cy-Hunt exposed one of Kerala’s largest cybercrime networks, the Kochi City Police have unearthed nearly 300 ‘rent accounts' -bank accounts leased or sold to cyber fraud syndicates- operated mostly by college students in the city. Three students have been arrested for aiding online scamsters by allowing their accounts to be used to route and withdraw illicit funds.

The arrested students are Abhishek Biju (21) of Eloor, Hafis (21) of Vengola, and Althaf (21) of Edathala. Kochi City Police Commissioner Putta Vimaladitya confirmed that all three are college students and that cybercrime networks actively used their accounts to move fraudulent funds.

According to the police, Abhishek was caught in Eloor while withdrawing cash from an ATM. His bank account was already under surveillance after being flagged for links to an ongoing cybercrime case. Based on his interrogation, the police traced and arrested Hafis and Althaf from Maradu, where they were caught withdrawing money from a branch of the Bank of Maharashtra. Around ₹6 lakh was seized from them.

The police said that the trio were part of a larger network controlled by a Perumbavoor native, suspected to be the local link of an organised cybercrime syndicate. The main accused allegedly handled transactions up to ₹25 lakh per day, routing money through multiple accounts created and rented by students.

"The gang lured students with promises of easy money through gaming and online jobs. They received commissions in the tens of thousands for withdrawing and handing over the fraudulent funds," said Kochi City Police Commissioner Putta Vimaladitya. The police also found that several students used their friends’ bank accounts for similar transactions.

On Thursday, Operation Cy-Hunt exposed cyber scams worth over ₹300 crore. The statewide raids, planned over three months, resulted in recording 382 cases, 263 arrests, and issuing 125 supervision notices in 12 hours. The crackdown, directed by State Police Chief DGP Ravada Chandrasekhar and supervised by ADGP (Cyber Operations) S. Sreejith, marked a proactive shift in Kerala’s cyber policing strategy, using financial intelligence to track mule accounts and preempt cybercrimes.

"There are many students who are involved in cyber frauds but most of them are unaware of the intensity of the crime they are part of. More students are likely to be arrested in the course of the investigation. We are planning to launch a slew of awareness campaigns in colleges," said Vimaladitya. 

The police said Cy-Hunt will continue in the coming weeks, with follow-up operations focused on tracing fund trails and ensuring coordination with other states to help recover victims’ losses.