OTP scam in Odisha: Accused from Assam had links with Pakistan

BHUBANESWAR: Assam native Mohammad Ekbal Hussain who has been arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) of the Crime Branch for involvement in the one-time password (OTP) scam, reportedly had links with Pakistani intelligence operative Abdul Hamid alias Khurram.

The STF said Hussain had directly sold OTPs of several WhatsApp and Telegram accounts along with mule bank accounts to Khurram. He went into hiding and switched off his mobile phone after the agency arrested the prime accused of the case, Pathani Samanta Lenka, and other members of the racket. STF said Hussain used more than 37 mobile phones and over 500 SIM cards to carry out cyber offences.

“During the investigation, Hussain revealed he had been selling OTPs of WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram along with pre-activated SIM cards and mule bank accounts for the last two years. He was earning `50,000 to ‘60,000 per month,” said an STF officer.

He even disclosed many youths in his native village Gendhua Pathar are involved in such cyber crimes. Hussain and other youths of the village use SIM cards and mobile phones for around a month and then destroy them by throwing the devices into the river, said the STF officer. He was produced before a court in the state capital on Friday. Apart from remaining in contact with Khurram, he communicated with another accused in the case Abhijit Desmukh.