Thiruvananthapuram: In two different incidents, two people from the city lost Rs 42 lakh and Rs 6 lakh each to online fraud. They were cheated off by fraudsters who offered lucrative returns in online trading.
The 46-year-old Karimanal-based man and a 28-year-old Kollam-based woman, who resides at Poojappura, were contacted by the accused through WhatsApp, sharing information about the possibilities in online trading.They were compelled to invest by making them join a WhatsApp group in which several people shared their success stories in online trading. The victims initially invested only a small amount and were able to earn attractive profits. This made them invest more without realising that it was a tactic to win their trust.
The victims later invested a larger amount, and the profit they earned was shown on a fake site as well. However, they were not allowed to withdraw the profit, with the excuse that they must invest more as per the policy of the firm.
Believing this, they invested more money, but at no point were they allowed to withdraw the amount. They were late to realise that it was a scam, but by then, they had lost a significant sum of money.
Police began a probe after registering cases on their complaints under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 318 (4) for cheating and 319 (2) for cheating by personation, and 66 (D) of the Information Technology Act.
“The man transferred the amount to seven accounts and the woman to four accounts. The cheating took place during the period from June till the first week of Aug. They were late to register a complaint, which helped the accused withdraw the money from the accounts. We have begun a probe, and we are gathering more details,” said police.
