A-DGP on tech vis-à-vis frauds
Mumbai: Artificial Intelligence (AI) could help banks and financial institutions sniff out ‘money mule’ accounts in less than a minute by identifying transaction patterns that are markedly different from those of genuine customers, Maharashtra Cyber Cell ADG Yashasvi Yadav has said.
Speaking at an event of The RealX Box on ‘real estate tokenisation’, Yadav said mule accounts often leave behind a distinct digital trail. Such accounts are commonly used to receive money linked to fraud or other illegal activity and quickly transfer it elsewhere, making them an important link in the chain of financial cybercrime.
“Such ‘money mule’ activity can be very easily identified and addressed seamlessly, with the latest AI technologies because the pattern of a ‘money mule’ is very distinct and different from that of a bona fide account holder,” Yadav said.
Explaining, the Additional DGP said a typical transaction begins with a relatively large amount of money entering an account, remaining there only briefly and then being split and transferred across several platforms. In some cases, the money may ultimately reach cryptocurrency wallets, making it more difficult to trace.
“However, for an AI system trained to recognise such behaviour, identifying the distinct pattern could take less than a minute. Accordingly, the ‘money mule’ problem in the country can be resolved in a matter of hours if the right software and technologies are deployed,” said Yadav.
He added that CyberSecurity would be equally important as India experiments with new digital models such as ‘land tokenisation’ and other physical assets are getting linked to digital platforms.
“Hence, merely protecting transactions alone would not be enough. The identity, credibility and reputation of the people using such systems would also have to be safeguarded. Land tokenisation can only be successful and effectively regulated when it is underpinned by robust cybersecurity,” Yadav pointed out.
He cited Maharashtra’s state-of-the-art Cyber Crime Tracking Network & Systems (CCTNS) inaugurated in Oct. 2024 as an example of the technological infrastructure needed to deal with increasingly sophisticated digital crime.
“The state-of-the-art setup is among the best in the world and represents the kind of advanced infrastructure and technological capability needed to tackle these emerging challenges,” Yadav said.
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