Thiruvananthapuram, Aug. 21 -- Kerala is fast emerging as a hotspot for mule accounts, with fraudsters increasingly targeting students to open bank accounts that are later misused for money laundering and cybercrimes, warned State Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) Kerala & Lakshadweep Convener Pradeep K.S.
The three-month nationwide financial inclusion campaign, launched by the Department of Financial Services under the Union Ministry of Finance, has already been completed in about 500 gram panchayats across Kerala.
He cautioned that school and college students are particularly vulnerable to fraudsters who lure them into opening mule accounts for illegal transactions.
"Holders of such accounts risk imprisonment, a permanent criminal record...