Salem businessman loses ₹2.22 crore; man from Kerala held for online trading investment scam

Published – November 16, 2024 10:22 pm IST – CHENNAI The Hindu Bureau

The Cyber Crime Wing of Tamil Nadu Police on Saturday arrested a 36-year-old man from Malappuram, Kerala, who rented out his bank account service to cyber fraudsters who swindled ₹2.22 crore from a victim in Tamil Nadu by misleading him to invest in fake trading scheme and promising high returns.

According to the police, the complainant who is a businessman in Salem was contacted over phone by a member of this fraud gang in July. The fraudster introduced himself as representing a Forex Trading firm and claimed that investing in ‘Forex Trading’ would yield multiple profit. The caller also said that the company was SEBI approved and investing in their company would secure the complainant’s investment. The fraudster convinced the complainant to invest more by sweet talks and mentioning the names of a few other important entrepreneurs to gain trust. After that, the company appointed someone to speak to the victim and convinced him to send money. The victim had sent a total amount of ₹2.22 crore in several transactions.

Further, the person who claimed to be representative of the firm said that he would help him retrieve his money if the victim would give ₹50 lakh to the bank account number they provide. At this time, the complainant grew suspicious and demanded his money back. It was only then the complainant realised that he was cheated. Hence, he filed a complaint in the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. Based on this, an FIR was registered at Cyber Crime Wing Headquarters, Chennai.

After analysing the call records and bank account details, the police found the money went to the bank account which was held by an auto driver in Malappuram. The police arrested the accused who has been identified as Ubaidulla residing in Chullikode, Malappuram, Kerala. Ubaidulla had opened a ‘mule’ current account in the name of Swabah Feed Agency and rented his bank account to be used by the cyber fraudsters for ₹1 lakh and had received ₹40,000 as advance.

Additional Director General of Police, Cyber Crime Wing, Sandeep Mittal said the public were advised against lending their bank accounts for financial fraud by cyber fraudsters. If someone was found involved in such activities, appropriate action would be taken against the account holder, he said.

Published – November 16, 2024 10:22 pm IST